Memories
by Songwind
Summary: (Ch.12) Meet Houjun when he was a kid, along with his friends! Just a kawaii story 'bout their childhood.
1. Default Chapter

Memories  
By Songwind  
Notes- I just thought this up and I HAD to start writing it. I'm not exactly sure how long this will be, but I hope you'll enjoy it all. This is how Kouran, Houjun and Hikou became friends. (Grins) It takes 'em a while, but they get there. This is mostly just a kawaii story to make you smile.   
Disclaimer- I don't own Fushigi Yuugi.   
  
Chapter One- Meetings  
  
"Houjun! Ne, Houjun!"  
  
A young boy, about six or seven, opened one eye, then the other. He stretched and ran a hand through his light hair. "Hikou?" he asked sleepily. "Whatcha doin' here?"  
  
The other young boy, around the same age (but with darker, shorter hair), was standing at the edge of Houjun's cot hopping up and down. "Come on, come on! What's takin' ya so long t' wake up, Houjun?!" he asked excitedly.  
  
"Hikou-kun..." Houjun sat up and stretched again. Then he rubbed his eyes and looked out the window. He sweat-dropped. "What time is it?"  
  
"Right after sunrise," Hikou beamed. "C'mon, Darrun just found a frog at the lake and we're gonna go and find more wit' 'im!"  
  
Houjun shook his head, still trying to understand why his friend was in his room so early in the morning. Granted, it was his best friend, and there wasn't a problem with him being there. However... this early? Hikou? In Houjun's room? "Hikou, lemme sleep," he murmured, and fell back onto the cot with a thump.  
  
"Aw, come on Houjun!" the other boy complained. "Yer missing out on th' fun, you know?"  
  
"I'll come later, go 'way." Houjun waved one hand, then turned on his side to go back to sleep.  
  
"Why?" Hikou asked. He poked his friend in the back a few times. "Houjun, why're ya so sleepy an' stuff today? It's a frog, we rarely catch 'em!"  
  
"I know..." Finally, his friend's words hit his still-sleepy brain. "A frog?!" He jumped up and turned to his best friend. "How big? Has it given anyone warts yet? Is it ugly?"  
  
"Come on, let's go and find out!"  
  
Houjun jumped out of bed and stuffed on his boots. Then he glanced into an old mirror, ran his hands over his hair a couple times- after all, it wouldn't do to go out without being at least somewhat presentable. After a moment, he was ready. "Let's go, Hikou-kun!"  
  
"Haaaaai!"  
  
The two ran out of Houjun's tiny room, out into the cool morning. For a moment, the two paused, breathing in the air and just grinning for the heck of it.   
  
The blue-haired boy took a moment to look around at his village. It was pretty small, but it had a bunch of huge hills and the like all around it, giving him and his friends plenty of places to explore. There were at least fifteen or so families at current count, and most of those families had at least one kid. There were a few stands at market. Once in a while, they would get lucky and catch a Bard or a peddler who would bring them news about their surroundings and the like.  
  
But enough thinking. They had to get to that lake!  
  
The boys were preparing to race their way there when a sleepy voice called from behind them, "Houjun, where are you going?"  
  
Houjun froze, and turned around. "Ohayo, Mama," he mumbled. "Just to th' lake- someone caught a frog."  
  
"Did you forget I'm taking you to market with me in two hours?"  
  
"Aw, Mama, I'll be back by then!" he protested.  
  
A woman came to stand in the doorway, crossing her arms over her chest. She was tall and fairly slim, though muscular from years of hard labor. Mai gave Houjun a skeptical look. "The last time I let you run off and gave you a set time to return you were three hours late."  
  
"But that was special, Mai-san," Hikou stepped in. "It's not every day you see Akena getting stunk up by a skunk!"  
  
Houjun's mother sighed. "Gomen, Houjun, but I can't let you go right now. Come back in here and we'll have something to eat, then head to the market. There's someone you have to meet anyway." With that, she turned around and headed back into the house.  
  
The blue-haired boy let his shoulders slump in disappointment. Hikou patted him on the back sympathetically. "I'll tell ya all about it," he promised.  
  
"I wonder who I gotta meet, and today?" Houjun groused.  
  
"Prob'ly that new family that just traveled in. Stay 'way from their lil' girl," Hikou warned. "She's mean, she talks too much and she's too honest."  
  
"Okay. Thanks Hikou." Houjun gave his friend a smile.  
  
"Houjun!"  
  
"Hai, coming Mama. You'd better go, Hikou-kun..." Houjun sweat-dropped when he saw his friend had already dashed off. "Never mind..."   
  
The young boy reentered his mother's house and sat down on a stool, where his mother handed him a fruit to munch on for breakfast. His excitement at getting to see the frog was wearing off, and Houjun found he only had the energy to mumble a thank you to his parent.   
  
Mai smiled at her son, patted him on the head, and went to prepare for the day ahead.  
  
"Mama, who're we meeting?" Houjun finally asked, swallowing the last of the fruit.  
  
"That new family that came in from the nearby village. I thought it would be nice if you could be their daughter's friend for a while, show her around, introduce her to your friends, that sort of thing."  
  
"What?! But Mama!" Houjun protested. "She's mean and talks too much!"  
  
His mother turned around and gave him a small smile, one hand on her hip. "And how did you come by such information, young man?" she asked.  
  
"Hikou," he stated. "An' he knows everythin' to know about new kids." He nodded, waiting for her to admit defeat and let him meet his friends at the lake.  
  
"He thinks he knows everything, anyway. She's a nice girl, Houjun. You'll see." Mai ran a hand through her royal blue hair and flashed a broader smile at him before returning to fixing up a basket for the day.  
  
Houjun sighed dejectedly. This was going to be one of those long, boring days...  
  
~*~  
  
"Mai-san, Mai-san, we just got a lot of new bolts of cloth from the capital of Konan!" called a young woman sitting behind a stand.  
  
Houjun looked up at his mother, wondering again what a bolt had to do with fabric. After all, wasn't a bolt of lightning dangerous? Mai, however, was busy calling back to the woman. "Arigato, but I have a pressing meeting to get to with someone today," she said with a smile.  
  
"Ah, Houjun-kun, try a new honey-cake?" a man asked from another stand.  
  
The named boy lit up with hope and eagerness, walking over and reaching up towards the offered cake. "Hai, arigato-"  
  
"He just ate a while ago," Mai said, pulling him away firmly. "You can get one later, Houjun."  
  
"Aw..." First no lake, no frog, and no friends- now there was no honey cake. This was definitely not fair. Houjun gave a deep sigh to show how upset he was, but his mother ignored him, continuing to lead him through the small market area towards a house he'd never been in before.  
  
"Ohayo, the house!" Mai called as they approached it.  
  
The door opened, and a middle-aged woman peered around it. Her face lit up. "Mai-san! It's good to see you!"  
  
"And good to see you. I was just coming to the market and decided to drop by." Houjun began to open his mouth to protest that she'd only come here to make him meet some girl he wanted nothing to do with, then stopped as his mother continued talking. "So where is your daughter?"  
  
"Ah, she's right in the house. Why for? Oh..." The middle-aged woman smiled at Houjun. "Houjun-kun, I take it?"  
  
For some reason he found himself blushing and shifting uncomfortably. "Ah, hai, hai," he mumbled.  
  
"I'll be right back with her." The woman disappeared.  
  
"Mama-"  
  
"Hush. You will get along with this young lady."  
  
"Hai, Mama," he said. He scuffed his toe against the ground, frowning at his feet.   
  
After a moment, the middle-aged woman came back out with a young girl in tow. The girl had her hair tied back in a braid, and was hiding behind her mother while peering out curiously.  
  
Their eyes locked.  
  
The girl stared, then looked away with a pout on her face. Houjun wondered if she'd seen him frowning, and tried to look merely interested.  
  
There was a long silence.  
  
"Well, aren't you going to say anything, Kouran-chan?" the middle-aged woman prompted.  
  
"Ohayo," the girl muttered.  
  
Houjun felt a nudge from his mother. "Hi," he said back.  
  
There was another long silence, in which Houjun scuffed his toe against the ground again and Kouran looked off into space.   
  
"Well, it's a start," Mai laughed. "How about I come in and help you with something? Anything you need?"  
  
"Oh, don't I ever," the middle-aged woman replied. "I need advice on this awful cobweb I just can't reach. Kouran-chan hates it, and she has to sleep there..."  
  
The two women wandered off, leaving the two alone.  
  
Houjun finally looked up to see the girl was staring at him. Again he blushed, and managed a small wave. "Um, so what-" he began.  
  
"You're a boy," she accused.  
  
He blinked. "Hai," he said, not quite sure what she was implying.  
  
"I hate boys!" she declared, and with that turned around and marched off.  
  
"N-nani? Wait a second!" He sighed as she ran off. "Mama'll kill me if I let her go off," he muttered to himself. Sighing again, he ran after her.  
  
~*~  
  
So what did you think? I'm sorry that the chapter's a little short, but there will be more to come, I promise!   
  
A note- I don't know if Chichiri's mom's name is mentioned anywhere, or Kouran's parents, or whatnot, so I'm making those up. Just to let you know.  
  
Please review, everyone! Thanks! 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two- Arguments  
Notes- Hehe, Kouran gets pushy in here. Poor Houjun. ^^ Please enjoy.  
  
~*~  
  
Houjun scrambled after Kouran as she raced through a nearby field, until she was leaning against a tree. The blue-haired boy stopped a little ways away, leaning over and panting. Then he looked up to see she was staring at him once again. He ran a hand through his hair nervously, wondering what he should say. Then he let the first words he could think of come out of his mouth.  
  
"Why do you hate boys?" he asked. Then he winced at that. It probably hadn't been the best question to ask her about.  
  
"'Cause they're ugly," she stated.  
  
He blinked. "You hate boys just 'cause they're ugly?" he asked incredulously.  
  
"Naw. They're also stupid."  
  
"Stupid?"  
  
"Hai. They ask too many questions." Kouran gave him a pointed look.  
  
Houjun blushed at that. "Oh come on! There're some ugly girls out there too."  
  
Immediately, tears began to well up in her eyes, and Houjun knew he'd made a big, big mistake somewhere. "You... you think I'm ugly? You called me ugly! You stupid boy! I hate boys!" She burst into sobs.  
  
The blue-haired boy winced. "Aw, come on, Kouran, I didn't mean it like that... yer not ugly!"   
  
Kouran continued to wail.  
  
"Daaaa...." Houjun sighed. His mother was going to kill him.  
  
He suddenly heard a giggle, and looked up to see Kouran's tears were completely gone. Now she was looking at him and giggling behind two hands that were clamped over her mouth. "Now what is it?" he asked her. "I didn't do nothin'."  
  
"You made a funny noise!" she answered.  
  
"I did?"  
  
She gave him an annoyed look. "You're asking dumb questions again," she accused.  
  
Houjun immediately went on the defensive. "I am not!"  
  
"Are too!" she shot back.  
  
"Am not!"  
  
"Are too!"   
  
"Am not!"  
  
"Are TOO!"  
  
"Am NOT."  
  
"ARE TOO."  
  
"AM NOT NA NO DA!"  
  
Kouran stopped, stared, and laughed at him again.  
  
By now, Houjun was getting thoroughly exasperated with this girl. "What is it now?" he asked wearily.  
  
"You made a funny noise again!" she said.  
  
"It's not a funny noise," he answered. He shot her a glare.  
  
She ignored him. "You're funny for a boy."  
  
"So you don't hate me?" he asked hopefully.  
  
"Don't get yer hopes up."  
  
"Oh." Houjun hung his head in resignation. So much for that!  
  
Kouran then turned around to look at him. Her look of distaste slowly turned into one of thoughtfulness, and she was soon rubbing her chin as she approached the boy. Houjun watched her warily, not quite sure as to what she was planning to do. If she was going to cry again, he wasn't sure what he could do to stop her.   
  
The girl walked around him a few times, then stopped and smiled. "I know how we can be friends!" she said delightedly.  
  
"Okay... how?"  
  
"You become a girl!"   
  
Houjun face-faulted. "I can't be a girl!" he protested. "It's... girly! And... and..."  
  
Kouran's eyes welled up again.  
  
"Ano... daaaa..." Houjun sighed as she went into a fit of giggles again. "It ain't that funny, Kouran."  
  
"Yes it is."  
  
"No, it's really not."  
  
"Yes it IS."  
  
"Is NOT."  
  
"YES IT IS."  
  
"NO IT'S NOT."  
  
Kouran sighed. "Do you wanna be friends or not?"  
  
"...Yeah, I guess so." He muttered then, "Long as you don't make fun of me no more..." Then Houjun watched her carefully. "What do I gotta do, exactly?"  
  
"Well, let's just go in my house an' into the room where I sleep. Then we can talk about bein' friends an' stuff." Kouran giggled again, and took hold of his hand. Without waiting for an answer, she started dragging him towards her house.  
  
Houjun hung his head again, wincing as he was dragged over some rocks. "Why do I gotta feelin' I'm not gonna like this?" he mumbled.  
  
~*~  
  
"Oh, you look so kawaii Kaori-chan!" Kouran declared, clapping her hands together delightedly.  
  
Houjun turned a beet red. "I don't wanna be friends anymore," he said. He was hiding behind the bed, trying not to be seen either by Kouran or by anyone who might be passing by the house peering into the room.  
  
"It's too late for that," she stated. "When you're already dressed an' stuff, you can't go back on yer choice. Like Mama always says."  
  
"I dun' wanna be dressed like a girl!" he complained, plucking at the dress he was now in. It was a long one, almost identical to Kouran's dress only instead of her sky blue one it was a bright yellow. He could feel a rather uncomfortable draft where he should be wearing pants (Kouran had stolen them while he was changing and hidden them somewhere). "I look... I look... girly!"  
  
Kouran crossed her arms. "Do it or I'll cry."  
  
Houjun winced. "You're mean."  
  
"An' stop soundin' like a boy," she ordered. "Or I won't be your friend."  
  
"Okay, okay..."  
  
Kouran smiled at him, then clapped her hands together as inspiration struck her. "Ne, Kaori-chan, let's go play outside!" she suggested brightly. "It's so sunny and purdy out there right now, it should be fun!"  
  
Houjun paled. Outside? Where everyone would see him... like this? He shook his head, looking at her pleadingly. "Can't we play inside?" he asked. "Onegai, Kouran-chan? Just for now?"  
  
"Iie." She grinned at him. "Unless o' course, Kaori-chan, ya wanna play tea party in here instead. That would be really fun too. Maybe our Mamas can play with us too..."  
  
The blue-haired boy turned even whiter before blushing again. "Ano, iie, Kouran-chan. Let's play outside instead."  
  
"I knew it! Let's go!" Kouran grabbed his hand and dragged him outside. "There's a river nearby an' we can watch all the fishies! An' we can race, and we can have a tea party later!"  
  
Houjun groaned as he let himself be pulled out of the house by the little girl. "Why me?" he asked the ceiling of the house. "Suzaku, please tell me... why me?!"  
  
~*~  
  
Another short chapter, and for that I apologize. I'll get out another soon, though, honest. Ne, though, I wonder what's going to happen to Houjun? ^_^ Kouran's a smart, evil lil' girl, ain't she? And poor Houjun's still confused.  
  
Oh, note about the Da's and No Da's in here. Houjun will say these very rarely when he's either trying to make a point, is angry, or very, very confused. As shown in here. He'll slowly do it more and more often while he grows up. Just letting you know.  
  
Anyway, please review everyone! Onegai? (Puppy eyes, then holds out lil' Houjun) I let you hug Houjun-kun!  
  
Houjun- AH! Girls no da! GET AWAY! (Runs)  
  
Er... well, how's this? I let you hug Chichiri! (Pulls out fully-grown Chichiri and offers him instead)  
  
Chichiri- (blinks, then sighs in resignation)  
  
So, how about it? ^^ 


	3. Chapter Three! Since I feel loved, I upd...

Chapter Three- Encounters  
Notes- I'm so glad you all like this! (Hands out plushies to everyone) ^^ I hope you enjoy this next chapter as much as you all seemed to enjoy the first two!  
  
~*~  
  
Houjun held his hands over his face at first, thinking that he was being pulled right into the middle of the street where everyone was going to point and laugh at him. Or worse, they'd think he wanted to be a girl or something. Hikou would never let him live another day without reminding him about this.  
  
However, when he didn't hear any gasps or laughs other than Kouran pulling him along and grunting, the blue-haired boy cautiously opened an eye.   
  
He was being pulled along towards the river, which spilled into the nearby pond/lake that Hikou had mentioned earlier that morning. Right now, the river was lower than he remembered it being. Houjun wondered if the frog from earlier was still around somewhere.  
  
Then he paled again. Oh, no. That's right, his friends were playing around here somewhere! Well, he could just explain Kouran made him... no! He was a boy, she was a girl. Boys were supposed to be stronger than girls... right?  
  
So then why was he being pulled around in a dress?  
  
Oh, right, because she'd cry and get him in trouble with his mother.  
  
He sighed. No matter what, it seemed like he was doomed. He'd either lose playing rights or his dignity. Since dignity always came back after a day or so, he figured he could live without it for just a little while to keep this girl from getting him into trouble.  
  
But of course, that didn't mean he had to talk to her or anything, did it?  
  
Kouran finally stopped dragging him and put her hands on her hips. "Oh, Kaori-chan, you got your dress all dirty," she said mournfully. "How can we clean it?"  
  
"What's wrong wit' dirt-" he stopped when he saw her glaring.  
  
"Kaori-chan! You almost sound like a boy! I hate boys! So should you!" Kouran stuck her tongue out and made a ridiculous face.  
  
Despite his resolve not to like her, he found himself giggling at the expression on her face.  
  
Kouran grinned. "Now, Kaori-chan, what should we play today? Maybe we can play emperor an' empress an'... oh, I dunno."  
  
"Ano..." Houjun brushed a little of the dirt off of the dress he was wearing, deciding to ignore that idea. Then he shivered when he felt another draft. "How can girls stand these things?" he asked, gesturing to the dress.  
  
"'Cause we haveta," Kouran replied. She shrugged. "Mama says it makes us look prettier than boys, and it's easier to go around in than pants. Plus the pants squeeze guys with some place Mama says they always think with. That's why they're dumb."  
  
"No they don't! And I'm not stupid!" he added.  
  
"Anyway," she said, ignoring him. "Yeah, dresses are much easier to run in."  
  
"They are, but it's weird," he complained.  
  
"Too bad, get used to it."  
  
"You are NOT gonna get me in a dress 'gain."  
  
Kouran's eyes widened and shimmered with tears.  
  
Houjun turned away. "... An' don't cry," he added as an afterthought.  
  
"You're so MEAN!"  
  
Something wet hit him in the back of the head.  
  
"DA!"   
  
Houjun turned around to see that Kouran had grabbed a handful of mud from near the river. His eyes widened in alarm, and his right hand trailed up to the back of his head, where he felt the cool river mud trickling down his neck into his clothes.  
  
"Koooouuurraaaan," he yelled. "I'll get you for that!"  
  
"Yer not allowed t' hit girls!" she shrieked, stepping back away from him just in case he went after her.  
  
"Who said I hadta hit ya?" he asked, and dove for his own mud.  
  
Kouran dove after him. "Don't you dare! I'll tell!"  
  
"You started it!"  
  
"Did not!"  
  
"DID TOO!"  
  
They continued to argue as they grabbed handful of mud after handful of mud, throwing them at each other. Most of the handfuls missed, landing harmlessly a little ways away. Finally, they gave up on throwing and started a wrestling match...  
  
~*~  
  
Hikou looked up from poking at the frog at the sound of shrieking. He had been there for the past hour or so, the last fifteen minutes by himself. His best friend Houjun hadn't come along because he was stuck with his mom going to meet the mean new girl, and the others had had to head home to get breakfast. Needless to say, since he hadn't so much as gotten warts yet, he was getting bored with the critter.  
  
Another shriek sounded, and a yell from a voice that sounded familiar.  
  
"Who...? A fight?!" he asked excitedly. He jumped to his feet, clenching his hands and unclenching them. "I'll bet they're girls by the voices! Ooh, wait'll I catch 'em and I'll get a cake or two from stoppin' 'em!" He nodded at this. "I am a genius," he declared.  
  
With that in mind, he stuffed the frog into the front of his shirt (just to see if long physical contact would give him warts), then ran off towards the sounds of the voices.  
  
~*~  
  
Finally, Houjun and Kouran stopped their little fight and sat up to brush themselves off. Both were panting, exhausted from the fight, but Houjun was grinning and Kouran was trying to keep a pout off of her face, though she was on the verge of smiling herself.  
  
The two sat there for a while, trying to get mud out of their hair and off of their clothes.  
  
Then,  
  
"Hey! Stop it, you two! Heeey- oh."   
  
Houjun froze. Oh no... He risked a peek. Yep, he was doomed.  
  
Hikou stood a little ways away from them, looking disappointed. "Aw, you already quit. I was hopin' you'd still be at it," he complained.  
  
Kouran sniffed. "Please. Girls don't start fights, they finish 'em quickly though," she said.  
  
Hikou gave her a cautious glare. "Yeah right. You should leave other girls alone," he added, glancing at Houjun. "I'll bet you did start this fight- eh?" He turned to get a better look at the other boy. His eyes widened. "HOUJUN?!" he yelled.  
  
Houjun winced.  
  
"That's not HOUJUN, that's Kaori-chan," Kouran said matter-of-factly. "Now if you don't mind, we're playin'. Go 'way."  
  
"Houjun, you poor guy," Hikou said. He walked to his friend and knelt in front of him, peering at the blue-haired boy. "Yer SO lucky everyone else went home, or they'd make fun of ya sure."  
  
Houjun blushed. "I know."  
  
"How'd she make you?"  
  
"She started crying," Houjun said awkwardly.  
  
Hikou nodded, immediately taking on a wise look. "Ah."  
  
"Hello?! Kaori-chan, he's a boy, don't talk to him! You, boy, go away!" Kouran yelled. The two continued to talk. "HEY! Don't ignore meeeee..." her eyes welled up with tears.  
  
"Girls always cry. See, they're too weak to put up with what other people want," Hikou said pointedly, glancing over his shoulder. "They're mean an' ugly and... well, mean. And they talk too much. An' they're really, really mean."  
  
"You already said that," Houjun pointed out.  
  
"I know, but it's true."  
  
"I know."  
  
"YOU'RE ALL MEAN!" Kouran declared angrily. "AN' I DON'T EVER WANNA SEE YA AGAIN!" With that, she burst into tears, turned, and ran back towards her house without a backward glance at the two stunned boys.  
  
There was a long silence as the boys watched her go. Then Hikou said, "Well, that actually went pretty well."  
  
"Really?" Houjun asked.  
  
"Yeah. Fer meeting a girl, anyways. Ne, Houjun, it's really weird seeing ya in a dress..."  
  
"I know. They're so uncomfy and cold." Houjun glanced back towards Kouran's house. "And Kouran stole my clothes."  
  
"Oh." Hikou frowned in thought. "Hmm... well, ya could just go back an'-"  
  
"IIE! If I do Mama'll see me! Hikou-kun, get my clothes for me! Onegai?!" Houjun interrupted.  
  
His friend gave him a somewhat dubious look. "I dunno about that, Houjun. I might get in trouble..."  
  
"Onegai!? I'll help you steal Geran's honey cakes later!"  
  
Hikou's eyes widened in surprise and delight- the honey cakes were his absolute favorite, and his greatest weakness. "Ya mean it, Houjun?" His friend nodded. "Aw, you're the best! Course I'll get yer stuff! Where is it?"  
  
"In her room," Houjun replied. At Hikou's frown he added, "I'll help steal TWO cakes for ya." He held up two fingers to emphasize his point.  
  
His friend nodded. "Okay, I'll do it."  
  
"ARIGATO HIKOU-KUN NO DA!" Houjun cried, hugging his friend.  
  
"Eh, Houjun, get off! It's weird, ya huggin' me, and in a dress an' all..." Hikou stood up and turned towards Kouran's house. Then with a deep breath, he started running towards it at top speed.  
  
Houjun watched him go, sighing. "Please, Kami, let him survive," he prayed. "I wanna get my clothes back, an' Hikou's my best friend an' all... onegai?" He looked up hopefully at the sky.  
  
There was a long quiet, then Houjun heard a distant scream and startled shouts. Then, he saw his friend racing out of the house with a bundle of clothes in his arms. His eyes were wide with terror as he hurried towards Houjun.  
  
"HOUJUN! TASUKETE, HOUJUN!" he howled. "She's gonna get me!"  
  
The blue-haired boy ran up to him, taking his clothes from his friend. Then he yelped as he was grabbed by his arm and dragged behind a nearby tree.  
  
Houjun hurriedly slipped into his clothes (sighing in relief when he got into his leggings again) as the two heard another scream, and what sounded like a wail. "What happened in there, Hikou?" he asked.  
  
He turned just in time to catch his friend's evil smile. "Eh? Oh, I got your clothes and... remember that frog I told ya about?"  
  
His friend nodded, wondering what the frog had to do with this.  
  
"I had the frog with me, an' I sneaked up behind that Kouran girl an' then dropped it on her hair. She screamed and whirled around, an' then it fell down into her dress."  
  
Houjun started to laugh. "Great job! I knew I could depend on you, Hikou-kun!"  
  
The two shared grins for a moment.  
  
Then Hikou said, "Wanna go get those cakes now?"  
  
"Haaaaai!"  
  
The two ran off, forgetting the dress and the fact that Houjun's mother was probably waiting for him to come back to the house and explain what happened.  
  
~*~  
  
Hehe. Revenge for Houjun! I wonder what'll happen? Will they get those cakes? Will Houjun's mother find them? What about Kouran? I hope you enjoyed that, I certainly had fun typing it. ^^ Later, everyone! 


	4. Chapter Four! Kawaiiness!

Chapter Four- Arigato  
Notes- Whee! ^^ I love writing this! And I'm so happy you all like it as much as I do! Please enjoy this chapter! I put it out fast too because I just felt glad about your reviews. Happy reading!  
  
~*~  
  
Houjun trudged through the town on what was now a familiar dirt path, staring sullenly at a bundle of something in his arms. He was dressed in his cleanest clothing; a shirt his mother had recently made for him and a pair of leggings she'd just washed yesterday. His hair, which was usually left alone, was now brushed.  
  
Why all of this neatness?  
  
The blue-haired boy started to grumble as he passed through the market. "Stupid dress, dumb Kouran girl, stupid, stupid..."  
  
~*~ Flash back ~*~  
  
"HOUJUN!"  
  
The young boy winced as he cautiously peeked through the door into his and his mother's house. "Hai, Mama?" he asked meekly.  
  
"Get in here NOW."  
  
He winced again, knowing exactly what she was going to say. Then he lifted his hands to lick them just one more time to remind himself about how wonderful the honey cakes tasted before doing as his mother told him to. "Ah... konbanwa, Mama."  
  
His mother was sitting on his cot, with her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed as she glared at him. And in her lap... was a familiar looking dress. Which was still utterly and completely covered in mud and dirt.  
  
Houjun paled. How had she gotten hold of that?  
  
"Now, Houjun. Explain why you ruined Kouran-chan's dress AND ran off without telling me for the entire day," Mai said.   
  
The blue-haired boy stared down at the floor, scuffing his toe against the ground as he tried to think of how to get himself out of trouble. "Mama, Kouran made me... made me..." he blushed. How could he tell her about this? He'd never live it down...  
  
"Made you... what?" the dangerous tone hadn't left her voice.  
  
Dignity or play time? Dignity or play time? Finally, Houjun made a decision. "She made me wear that stupid dress an' then threw mud at me!" he blurted out. "An' then we got into a fight, an' we both got dirty, an' she blamed ME for it! An' then she says boys are dumb and we can't do nothin' right... Mama, it's all her fault! Honest!"  
  
The glare had turned into a rather odd expression on his mother's face. "What did you just say?" she asked, incredulous. "She made you wear a dress, did she?"  
  
He blushed even more. "Hai," he mumbled, staring at the floor.  
  
There was a long silence, then Mai burst out laughing. "Oh, Houjun!"  
  
The boy looked up, blinking.   
  
Mai shook her head, and managed to stop laughing. She wiped a tear from one eye. "How on earth did she make you do such a thing?" she asked him.  
  
"Ano... she said she'd tell on me an' she'd cry," he said.  
  
"I see." His mother managed to resume a stern expression. "That still doesn't give you any right to destroy such a beautiful dress such as this."  
  
"She's got plenty o' others," he protested. "Sides, like I said she made me!"  
  
"I heard you the first time, dear. Don't repeat yourself or people won't think you're very bright." Mai sighed. "And then those cakes you and Hikou stole... how many did you take, Houjun?"  
  
"I took three," he said, smiling at the memory. "Hikou got four, though," he added with a sigh. "Next time I'll beat him!"  
  
"No you will not, young man." Mai stood up.  
  
Houjun winced at that. "Mama, please don't be mad at me?" he asked.  
  
A hand was put on his head, and he looked up at his mother to see that she was now smiling again. "I'm not mad at you, Houjun-kun. At least, not anymore. I was before, I admit, but... anyway, I'm just a little exasperated at you. Now... how do we get you to stop destroying little girl's things AND from stealing honey cakes?" she mused.  
  
The blue-haired boy stared up at her with wide eyes, wondering what his fate was going to be. Please, oh please, don't let it be no play!   
  
"I know!" Mai nodded. "You can wash this dress and tidy it up for me tomorrow morning, Houjun."  
  
"But-"  
  
"And then, you'll get dressed up very nicely. You'll go over to Kouran's house, give her back her dress, say you are sorry, and offer to let her come over and play soon."  
  
"BUT MAMA!"  
  
"No buts, Houjun. Now let's get you in a bath- you're filthy and I'll bet you have trouble keeping things from sticking to your hands."  
  
Houjun pouted, but sighed in resignation when he realized his mother wasn't going to be swayed on the subject. "Hai, mama," he said, returning his gaze once more to the floor.  
  
~*~ End Flashback ~*~  
  
The blue-haired boy sighed again as he reached Kouran's house, staring at the door. Maybe he could just drop the dress there, knock on the door, make a run for it... then he wouldn't have to talk to Kouran, or even ask her over to play!  
  
"I can't believe Mama's makin' me do this," he mumbled at the ground.  
  
After a long debate (a whole five minutes), Houjun shook his head. "I gotta. Mama'll know if I don't do it," he said to the door in front of him. He hesitated, then reached out and knocked on it.  
  
A moment later, Kouran opened the door. She was wearing a blue dress now, and her hair was loose instead of tied back in a braid like before. Her large eyes widened in shock at the sight of him, then narrowed. "Go away," she said, and prepared to shut the door.  
  
"Chotto matte!" Houjun said, stepping in to block the door. "It ain't like I wanna do this!" he told her with a glare. "It's yer fault anyway."  
  
"What is?"  
  
"Me getting in trouble," he said.  
  
She giggled. "Haha, you're in trouble? I ain't!" she boasted.  
  
"That's cause yer a girl. Girls can't take being in trouble. They just cry about it," Houjun said.  
  
She stopped laughing to glare back at him. "That was mean," she accused.  
  
"It's true though. I brought your stupid dress."  
  
"What dress?"  
  
"The dress you made me wear."  
  
"Oh. That dress. Keep it."   
  
Houjun blinked at her. "NANI!? I can't keep a dress! It's too girly, and what'd Hikou think?"  
  
"Do I care?" she sniffed, turning her nose up at him.  
  
"I washed it and everything," he said, thrusting it out at her. "So... um... it ain't got no cooties or nothin', if ya believe in that stupid stuff. It's all clean. Mama made me wash it all day..."  
  
"You washed it all day? For me?" she asked, looking up at him.  
  
Her eyes were suddenly wide again, and sparkling. Her whole face seemed to light up at the thought of him doing something for her. Houjun, surprised at this sudden change in behavior, blinked again and blushed. "Ano, well... daaaa..."  
  
She giggled again. "Arigato, Houjun. I'll take it back after all." She took the dress. "It's all lumpy though," she said, looking at it in distaste. "Boys can't fold anything, can they?"  
  
He frowned. "Hey, I brought you yer dumb dress. Oh..."  
  
She looked up from her dress. "Oh, what?" she asked.  
  
Again, he found himself blushing as he scratched the back of his head. "I haveta," he mumbled. Then he looked up at her. "If ya wanna come over an' play sometime... well, girls are allowed an' all. I'm not sayin' that cause I wanna be great friends, just to be nice," he added hurriedly.  
  
She laughed again. The girl seemed to laugh often. Then she gave him a little smile, and turned her nose up again. "Huh. Maybe I will come over. I woulda anyway. I do what I wanna do, after all. An' no boys can stop me!"  
  
"Whatever," Houjun muttered.  
  
"Houjun-chan..."  
  
He looked up.   
  
The smile had become sweet, almost shy. "Arigato again."  
  
"A-ah... bye!" He turned and quickly left.  
  
Kouran watched him go, said, "Stupid boys," with a wicked smile on her face, then headed back into the house. It was time to have her mother read to her.  
  
Meanwhile, Houjun was running down the path to his house, as though he expected her to chase after him or something. All the while, the young boy was mumbling, "Stupid girls, stupid, stupid, mean girl, Kouran is stupid!"   
  
~*~  
  
Well, maybe they'll get along now... or is Kouran up to something again already? You'll have to wait to find out, won't you? ^^ 


	5. Chapter Five!

Chapter Five- Triple Trouble  
Notes- I'm churning these out in quite the flurry, ne? ^^ Let me say I'm very flattered and my ego has been quite boosted thanks to the wonderful reviews everyone has given me. Domo Arigato! (Instead of handing out plushies, the author now hands out cookies) Enjoy!  
  
~*~  
  
"Are ya ready, Houjun-kun?"  
  
"Hai, Hikou!"  
  
The two boys shared excited grins as they made their way down the street.   
  
"I'm gonna get more cakes than you will!"  
  
"Ha, like that'll happen!" Hikou replied.  
  
They broke into a run as they hurried towards the market, where they did their usual cake stealing. Well, not stealing exactly; Houjun preferred to think of it as making sure the cakes didn't go bad. After all, something as good as a honey cake deserved to be eaten right away, right? And Hikou, of course, agreed with his thoughts, so once again they were on their way to see what they could get for the day.  
  
First off, though, they'd see if they could get any free samples.  
  
"Ah! Houjun-kun, Hikou-kun!" Gerran said, smiling at the two boys as they approached. There was a sparkle in his eyes; he knew exactly what they were up to today.  
  
Then again, he always did know. Ever since the boys were four they'd been trying to get at his honey cakes. At first he'd been annoyed; now he was merely amused. After all, he could have easily caught the two a number of times, but they'd only stolen one or two every day they tried.   
  
And as popular as the honey cakes were, the mothers were quite strict around this village; his cakes weren't bought very often, and Gerran himself figured that it wouldn't hurt the kids to have a little more fat on them. Therefore, he only caught them and reprimanded them once every four or so times.  
  
Not that he ever let them know that was his view on the matter. Kids were kids, after all, and he hadn't met a kid yet who hadn't parroted at least one or two things to their parents or other adults that were unnecessary for anyone to hear. Gerran did NOT have any urges to deal with any angry mothers, now or ever.  
  
He winked at the two. "What can I do for ya, boys?"  
  
"We're just lookin'," Hikou said innocently. He was grinning; his eyes were dancing with excitement, and laughter was quickly bubbling up in his throat. However, he managed to keep it down. "Seein' whatcha merchants got."  
  
"Hai," Houjun added, also plastering an innocent smile on his face.  
  
Gerran nodded. "Ah, I see. Well, why don't I give ya somethin' to treat on while you're looking around today, boys? On me."  
  
"Hontou!?" both exclaimed, hands immediately clasped in front of them as though they were pleading. "You mean it, G-san?" Hikou said.  
  
"Hai, of course I do!" Gerran laughed. "It's not like I'd say it and do something else! Set a bad example for you young 'uns. Here you go!" With that, he gave each of them a honey cake.  
  
Hikou's eyes grew wide and sparkly at the sight and smell of a cake in his hands. "Aaaaaah," he said dreamily, staring at it.  
  
Houjun blinked at his friend; he was already halfway done gobbling up his cake. "C'mon, Hikou," he said. "We gotta look at other stuff too."  
  
"Huh? Oh, hai, hai, Houjun. Just another minute..." Hikou grinned as his eyes returned to the cake in his hands. "Honey caaaake," he sighed. "I love these. Houjun, have ya tried 'em? They're so good, so good...."  
  
The blue-haired boy gave his friend a grin. "Hikou, I just finished mine. Of course I know 'bout them. Now c'mon!" He tugged on his friend's sleeve.  
  
Hikou started to stuff his face with the cake so that he could wave at Gerran with his sticky hands while Houjun pulled him around the corner. "Arigato G-san!" both chorused before disappearing.  
  
Gerran chuckled. "Let's see if that deters them for today..." He listened intently, and a moment later he could hear muffled giggles coming from behind his stand. He grinned. "I suppose not. Good thing I made an extra batch today," he murmured.   
  
He smiled at a woman who was coming up to buy some cakes, and decided to let the boys go at it for today. If they got sick from taking too many of his cakes, he'd just make sure they didn't do so around his stand.   
  
~*~  
  
Houjun clamped a hand over his friend's mouth. "Hikou, you're gonna get us caught!" he hissed.  
  
"No I'm not," his friend mumbled, and tried to pull Houjun's hand off of his mouth. "Stop it!"  
  
"Iie. You'll just get us dis- dis- found!" Houjun replied.  
  
"It's discovered," Hikou said helpfully. Then he poked out his tongue.  
  
"EW!" Houjun quickly wiped his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't do that, Hikou!" he reprimanded. "That's nasty!"  
  
Hikou grinned. "It did what I wanted it to, ne?" he said quietly. "Now be quiet!"  
  
"You be quiet!"  
  
Both started laughing again, and clamped their hands over their mouths.  
  
"Now, Houjun, ya ready?"  
  
"Hai!"  
  
"Whatcha doing?" came another voice.  
  
Both boys froze, then groaned and turned to see what they were worried they'd see.   
  
Kouran stood a few feet away from their hiding spot, looking at them with a curious expression on her face. Her hands her behind her head as she gave them a wide-eyed look of interest.   
  
"Kouran, you'll get us caught!" Houjun whispered frantically.  
  
"Caught...? You're stealing again!" she accused.  
  
"No we ain't! We're eatin' 'em so they won't go bad!" Hikou said.  
  
"Yeah!" Houjun added.  
  
"You're gonna get in trouble!" she declared.  
  
"Only if ya don't be quiet!" Hikou said.  
  
"An' why should I?"  
  
"Cause I told ya to!"  
  
She sniffed. "I do what I wanna do, not what you wanna do, Hikou-chan."  
  
Unlike Houjun, Hikou hated her calling him that. "Don't call me that!" he said, giving her a glare.  
  
"Call ya what?" she asked with an innocent smile.  
  
Houjun sighed. "What do ya want, Kouran?" he asked.  
  
"Houjun!" Hikou said.  
  
Kouran flashed the blue-haired boy a little grin and gave a victory pose. "I'm stealing some too!"  
  
"You're what? No you're not!" Hikou said. "This is a boy thing! Ain't ya supposed to be inside somewhere making clothes?"  
  
"Hikou!" Houjun whispered.  
  
But the girl was already sniffling, her eyes now filling with unshed tears. "You're so mean, Hikou-chan! If you don't lemme come with ya I'll tell on you AN' say you made me cry."  
  
Hikou paled. Houjun sighed again. "Daaaa," he said. "Alright, alright! Long as ya know we each only take our own cakes. Got it?"  
  
The tears were already gone. Kouran was smiling again.   
  
Both boys exhaled in relief at that, and returned their attention to where the honey cakes were being kept. Hikou frowned in disappointment; Gerran was checking over the cakes that he hadn't sold yet. "We haveta wait a minute," he muttered to Houjun. The blue-haired boy nodded.  
  
Houjun let his thoughts turn to Kouran while he waited for his friend to signal that they could go. The young girl had started tagging along with him and Hikou ever since they'd all met four weeks ago. Well, not tagging along exactly; he saw her occasionally playing with other girls in town. However, it seemed that whenever he and Hikou were about to do something fun, just the two of them, she'd show up and demand to be allowed to join in.  
  
Four weeks... It'd almost felt like years, at first. Houjun had nearly had a heart attack when Kouran appeared the first time; they'd almost been caught stealing cakes then.  
  
Now, it was almost as everyday as anything else in this town was. Houjun had almost been expecting her to show up, and the minute she had done so, he'd accepted her appearance with resignation.  
  
"Ready?" Hikou asked.  
  
Houjun returned his thoughts to the matter at hand; stealing the cakes. "Hai!"  
  
"Hai!" Kouran added.  
  
Hikou winced, muttered a quick prayer, and then said, "Let's go!"  
  
All three dove out of their hiding spots onto the stacks of cakes. Hikou quickly grabbed four; Houjun got two; Kouran got one.   
  
Gerran didn't seem to notice them until they had already grabbed their respective cakes. "Hey! You little rascals, get back here and put those down!" he roared, waving his hands at them. However, since he had cakes in his hands at the moment, he couldn't do much to stop them at the moment.  
  
Giggling at each other, the three raced away from the scene of their crime towards the river, which was about a five-minute sprint for them.  
  
Finally, they reached the river and collapsed in a little heap of sticky cakes and laughing children. The three eventually pulled away from each other, panting, and looked over their prizes.  
  
"Ha! Looks like I beat ya again, Houjun!" Hikou said proudly, holding up his cakes.  
  
Houjun's face fell. "No fair! He saw us before I could get any!"  
  
"Rules 'r rules," Hikou said. When he noticed his friend's disappointment however, he said, "Here, here's one more. Then we'll be even, ne?"  
  
Houjun lit up again. "Arigato Hikou-kun! You're really a great friend!"  
  
The other boy grinned. "O' course I am!" he boasted.  
  
Kouran, meanwhile, had been staring from her single cake to the boys' collection of treats. A vein popped out in her head. "Excuse me? He already got two cakes!"  
  
Hikou looked over, wide-eyed. "Well, yeah, so?"  
  
"So? So! So I should get one more!" Kouran demanded. "It's only fair!"  
  
The two boys blinked. "No, that's not how it works," Hikou explained. "Ya see, ya only share th' loot if ya wanna. An' I wanna share it with Houjun. Not with YOU."  
  
"Oh yeah? I'll tell!"  
  
"You always say that, you- you- girl!"  
  
"Ooh! Stupid boys! You can't even come up with bad words!" She stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
"Sure I can!" Hikou said, making a face back at her. "I know all o' em. Ya name 'em, I know 'em!"  
  
"Oh yeah, prove it!"  
  
Hikou puffed out his chest while Houjun watched in a mixture of amusement and exasperation. "Girls ain't supposed to learn bad words, so I can't say 'em," he said with a haughty expression.  
  
Kouran rather quickly wiped that expression off of his face with a handful of dirt.  
  
"YOU- YOU!" Hikou was at a loss for words. "You... destroyed... one o' my... cakes..." he said, staring at a dirt-and-grass-covered honey cake. His eyes were wide and threatened to spill tears.  
  
The girl turned her nose up at him. "Serves you right fer that, Hikou-kun," she said.  
  
"Minna," Houjun tried to cut in. "Here, Hikou-kun, have yer cake back..."  
  
"Houjun-kun, I can't. This is WAR," Hikou declared, and reached for his own handful of dirt and grass while gobbling up his remaining honey cakes.  
  
Houjun blinked, then turned away. "Daaaa," he complained.  
  
Kouran giggled, and for a moment everything seemed to calm down. "You made a funny noise again," she said.  
  
"He does that all the time," Hikou told her.   
  
"Why?"  
  
"'Cause he's Houjun, I guess."  
  
"Ano... minna?" Houjun blinked as the two suddenly went from about to fight to almost-friends.  
  
"I've never heard anyone say that 'fore."  
  
"Yeah, neither have I. Mama says it's to make a point or somethin'," Hikou said, nodding. He once again had that wise, all-knowing look he usually wore when explaining things to kids his age.  
  
"Hontou?" Kouran asked.  
  
"I don't like being ignored," Houjun hinted.   
  
"Go 'way, we're talkin' about you," Kouran told him.  
  
"I thought you didn't like boys," Houjun said.  
  
She blinked suddenly, and her eyes narrowed. "I don't. You stupid boys tricked me!" she said, her voice growing higher in pitch. Both boys winced.  
  
"Now you've done it," Hikou said to his friend. Houjun nodded, wishing he could take it back now.   
  
"First ya don't lemme play, then ya don't share, and NOW ya trick me!" she said. "You're so mean! An' I was tryin' to be nice too! I HATE you!" She turned and started to run away from them, following the riverbank.  
  
The two watched her, then sighed at once. "She changes feelin's fast, doesn't she?" Houjun asked.  
  
Hikou smacked him on the head. "NOW we gotta follow her!" he said.  
  
"We do?" Houjun asked, rubbing his head.  
  
"Hai! Remember that really slippery part further up? Where the water gets deep?"  
  
Houjun suddenly blinked. "Uh-oh. Hai, Hikou-kun. She doesn't know about that place yet..."  
  
"AAIIIYEEEE!"  
  
"Now she does," Hikou said. "Come ON! If she dies we'll never be allowed t' play again!"   
  
"Hai!"  
  
With that, the two raced alongside the riverbank, and soon found what they were afraid to see.  
  
This part of the riverbank was particularly hard to navigate, especially when one was trying to walk right next to the water. There was a large, old tree with huge roots sticking out and feeding into the water at this point, and the soil always seemed to be muddy, even in the hottest days of summer.   
  
Kouran had tripped over a huge tree root and slid all the way down the bank into the water, which was a few feet deep, the deepest part of the river. She was now trying to tread water and scream for help at the same time.  
  
Houjun took a second look at her, and his eyes widened in alarm. She wasn't treading water, she was thrashing! She couldn't swim!  
  
A sudden need to protect filled him, and his eyes narrowed. An instant later, he felt a strange warmth and strength flow from somewhere in his right leg to his entire body, and without a second thought he barked out orders to Hikou.  
  
"Hikou-kun! GET HELP NO DA!"  
  
"N-nani? Houjun, what're you-!"  
  
SPLASH!  
  
Houjun dove into the water- he'd learned to swim thanks to his father about a year ago- and swam over to Kouran, who was still thrashing and screaming. "GO!" he yelped.  
  
Hikou blinked at his friend for a moment. Was it him, or had he seen something on Houjun's right knee glow? Then he shook his head and said, "H-hai!" He then turned and ran back to the village.  
  
Houjun grabbed hold of Kouran, who was still thrashing. "Kouran! Kouran-chan! Calm down, I gotcha!" he said.  
  
"I'm gonna drown, I'm gonna drown!" she screamed.  
  
He sighed. "No, you're not. I gotcha, Kouran-chan!"  
  
She stopped thrashing and looked around at him. "Y-you came in ta save me?" she asked, eyes wide.  
  
It was that LOOK again. The one she gave him when he gave her back that dress... he blushed and looked away. "Da. Course I did. It'd be bad if I let a girl drown, y'know."  
  
She stuck out her tongue at him. "Stupid."  
  
"Shut up." He started to tow her back towards shore.  
  
The two climbed up on the bank not too far from where Kouran had fallen in, and Houjun slipped out of his shirt to try and wring it out while Kouran worked on drying her hair a bit and brushing herself off. The two sat in silence for a while.   
  
Then Kouran said, "Ya saved me, Houjun-chan."  
  
Houjun looked up to once again see that look. "Ano, it was nothing. I didn't know ya couldn't swim," he muttered.  
  
"I never learned," she admitted, picking at a piece of grass. "Never thought it'd be so hard."  
  
"It gets easier once ya learn it," he said.  
  
"Course it does. Then you KNOW it already. Stupid boy."  
  
"Stupid girl."  
  
"Hmph." Both folded their arms and looked away from each other.  
  
"Ano..."  
  
"Nani?" Houjun asked impatiently.  
  
"...Domo Arigato, Houjun-chan."  
  
He looked back, and was surprised to find her giving him a swift kiss on the cheek. He turned a beet red, and for a second wondered about cooties. Then he dismissed the idea and started to wonder about what he should do.  
  
Kouran pulled back and giggled at the expression on his face. "Y'know, even if you're stupid like yer friend, you're nice... for a boy, anyway." She sat up and looked back towards the village. "Ah! Mama!" She stood up and started running towards someone in the distance.  
  
Houjun continued to sit there, mind blank, while Hikou and a couple others from the village got closer. Then a blue tinge appeared under his eyes, and he finally turned and dunked his head into the river. Repeatedly.  
  
"Da. Da. Daaaa!" he stated. "Why can't she just be MEAN?" he rubbed at his cheek where she'd kissed him. "Ew..."  
  
"Houjun! You all right there, boy?" asked a man from the village.   
  
The blue-haired boy looked up from his head- dunking to see Gerran. "Hai, I'm fine," he mumbled.  
  
"Mighty brave of ya to help your friend there," he said with a little wink.  
  
Houjun gave him a glare. "She is NOT my friend."  
  
Gerran chuckled, patted him on the head, and turned away. "He'll be all right, everyone. Let's get back to market."  
  
Mai, meanwhile, had come up to Houjun and was looking him over, tsk-ing and shaking her head. "Houjun-kun, how do you GET into these situations?" she asked. He started to open his mouth to answer. "Never mind. Let's get you home, dried, and into some other clothes or you'll get a cold within the week." With that, she abruptly picked her son up, wet clothes and all, and started to carry him home.  
  
Houjun sighed, and glanced down at where Hikou was waving goodbye to him and Kouran was walking away hand-in-hand with her mother. Then he shook his head. Girls!  
  
~*~  
  
Hehe. That last sentence says a lot, ne? ^^ Devious Kouran, what is she up to now? Does she just like teasing poor Houjun, or is something else on her mind? I hope you enjoyed this.  
  
Hey! Longest chapter yet! I'm so proud! (Sniffs and hugs fic)  
  
Fic- (sweat-drops)  
  
Random person- (sees the author hugging her computer and quickly turns around and walks away without making any comments)  
  
Anyway, an extra note about something mentioned in this chapter- yes, Chichiri does have a father in this story. You'll be seeing him very soon, I promise you. He just likes to travel. But that's another chapter! Until then, everyone, take care! (Waves) 


	6. Chapter Six!

Chapter Six- Coming Home  
  
~*~  
  
"You're joking," Houjun told his friend.  
  
"I am not, Houjun-kun! I mean it! Ryu's house is haunted!" Hikou announced. He raised a finger and wagged it to emphasize his point. "Honestly! Ryu says he saw the ghost himself! An' Ryu's never lied t' me!"  
  
"He has to me," Houjun said. He looked at his friend dubiously. "Hikou, Mama says there's no such thing as ghosts."  
  
"Oh yeah? I'll bet ya won't come with me tonight t' see it!"  
  
Houjun blinked. Then he frowned. "Of course I'll come, Hikou! Then I'll show ya that ghosts don't exist."  
  
"Ha! We'll see about that!" Hikou said.  
  
The two were sitting by the river, and it was the beginning of summer. Thus, it wasn't boiling hot quite yet, but it was definitely warm enough to lure all of the children (as well as some of the adults) to the river during the day, or at least to some shade.   
  
Houjun and Hikou were drying out from their last swim in the river, and Houjun occasionally lifted up his shirt to see if it was dry yet, and wring it out to rid it of any extra droplets of water. Hikou, meanwhile, leaned back on his elbows and spent his time either watching the clouds in the sky, a few of the other children playing in the water, or his friend.  
  
"Say, where is Ryu anyway?" Houjun asked, scratching the back of his head. "I'm surprised he's not out here."  
  
"Me too," Hikou agreed. "Ah..." He lay back completely and rested his head on his hands as he stared at the sky. "Hey, that looks like a house!" He pointed up at a nearby cloud.  
  
"Hontou?" Houjun peered up, then frowned. "Nah, that looks like Gerran's cake stand."  
  
"Honey cake..."  
  
The blue-haired boy sweat-dropped. "I think I just lost Hikou-kun," he muttered as his friend stared dreamily into the sky.  
  
"I'll say."  
  
"DA!" Houjun jumped.  
  
Kouran, who was standing behind him, giggled and flipped her braid over her shoulder. "Hiya, Houjun-chan," she said.  
  
"Yeesh, why can't ya NOT sneak up on me?" he mumbled. He turned to glare at her. "Whaddaya doing here anyway? This is our tree!"  
  
"Hontou?" She made a show of looking around. "I don't see your name on it, Houjun-chan!"  
  
"It's still our tree!"  
  
"Yeah!" Hikou announced, coming out of his reverie. "Go get your own tree."  
  
"Hmph." Kouran glared at the two. "It's not like I wanna be out here anyway. Houjun-chan's Mama sent me."  
  
"Sent you?" both boys asked.  
  
"What for?" Houjun asked.  
  
The young girl smirked at them; she knew she had them now. "Well, since ya don't wanna be around me, then why should I tell you? I'm sure you can just sit there an' play under your dumb tree instead of hearing what your Mama had t' say, Houjun-CHAN."  
  
Houjun winced at the emphasis on -chan. Then he smirked back as he was suddenly struck with divine inspiration.   
  
The boy stood up, taking his shirt with him. He slipped into it as he said, "Oh yeah? What if I just went and asked my Mama to tell me herself?"  
  
Kouran gaped at him. "Demo, demo you can't do that!" she protested.  
  
"An' why not?"  
  
"Cause... that's not fair!" she said, stamping one foot.  
  
He shrugged. "Oh well." He turned to leave.  
  
"Go Houjun-kun!" Hikou cheered.  
  
Kouran hit him. "You shut up. Stupid boys! I'm not running messages for YOU or YOUR parents ever again!" She declared.  
  
Both boys shrugged. "Okay," they said.  
  
She humphed again. "I'm going swimming." With that, she turned to leave.  
  
Hikou grinned evilly. "An' since when could ya swim, Kouran-CHAN?!" he yelled tauntingly after her.  
  
"SHUT UP, HIKOU-CHAN!"  
  
Houjun gave his friend a thumbs up before turning and heading towards his home.  
  
A moment later, he felt a familiar warmth flow through his right leg and paused to see what was going on. For the past few months, ever since he'd saved Kouran from drowning, his leg had started to warm whenever something he needed to know was going on.  
  
The blue-haired boy frowned. "Nani?" he wondered, and glanced at his leg. Seeing as he was still wearing his damp leggings, he couldn't see anything of course. However, the warmth remained.  
  
Wondering, he touched his right knee, where it felt the warmest.  
  
After a moment, his frown disappeared and was replaced with a broad smile as an image flashed through his mind. "DAD!"  
  
He broke into a sprint towards his house, everything gone from his mind except for getting to see his father again. His side started to hurt from the sudden burst of speed, but he ignored it. He had to get there- now!  
  
Only minutes later he found himself racing into his house and skidding to a stop. He nearly ran into a chair before he could stop entirely, but he didn't care. His eyes roamed the room, searching.  
  
There was a bit of silence before a man came into the room. He was tall and whipcord thin. His hair was a light blue, almost lighter than Houjun's was. However, his hair was long and unruly, so he had it tied back in a ponytail to keep it from getting in the way. His eyes were a warmer, darker blue. His face wrinkled as he smiled, kneeling down.  
  
"Well, I was wondering what was making that loud thundering noise!" he said.   
  
"Dad!" Houjun yelped, and threw himself into his father's arms.  
  
Laughing, Yen picked up his son and hugged him. "It's been a while, ne, Houjun-kun?" he asked.  
  
"Hai!"  
  
"What have you been up to?"  
  
"Many things," Mai said, entering the room to give father and son both a little smile. "So many you wouldn't believe it."  
  
"I saved someone from the river!" Houjun bragged.  
  
"Oh, did you?" Yen asked, eyes twinkling. "And who did you save?"  
  
The blue-haired boy paused. Then he mumbled into his father's shirt, "Some girl. No one important... but I did save someone!"  
  
"No one important!" Mai huffed. "He's talking about Kouran-chan. When you were gone, Yen, a new family came in with a beautiful, charming young lady. She's been going around with Houjun and Hikou ever since."  
  
"Already at the walking out together stage? Aren't you a bit young for that, Houjun-kun?" Yen teased, chucking his son under the chin.  
  
"Walking out? With Kouran? Ick!"  
  
Both of his parents laughed while Houjun pouted. "It's not funny," he complained as Yen let him down. "Ne, Dad, can I see your staff?"  
  
"My walking staff? Of course." Yen turned away and left the room for a moment.  
  
Houjun practically danced with impatience as his mother laughed at him again. "Houjun-kun, it's really not that great of a staff you know. Every traveler has a staff to help them to walk!"  
  
"But it's jingly!" he protested. His ears perked when he heard that familiar jingling noise coming from the other room. "Wai!" he said, and hurried after his father.  
  
Yen sat on the bed, holding his staff up and looking at it with a faint smile. When Houjun came into the room, his smile grew and he held the staff out to Houjun for his son to inspect.  
  
The blue-haired boy accepted it immediately; he was so used to holding it he didn't start at its weight like he used to. The staff was mostly very plain, a long, straight, and smooth bit of wood crafted from one of the strongest trees... Houjun couldn't for the life of him remember which one. However, at the very top was a metal loop with smaller metal loops on it, which made the faint jingling sound every time Houjun moved the staff.  
  
He shook it for a moment, and grinned as he listened to it. "Ne, Dad, are ya sure ya want it?" he asked innocently.  
  
Yen grinned back. "I told you, yes I do. You can have it when I get old and tired."  
  
"You're old already," Houjun said, and squeaked as his father tackled him playfully.  
  
"Am I?"  
  
"DA! Lemme go, Dad!" the blue-haired boy yelped. He squirmed as his father got his arms behind his back. "Mmkay! Mmkay! Yer not old! Lemme go no da!"  
  
"You give up fast," Yen observed, letting his son go. "But you are growing," he added.   
  
Houjun lit up. "Then you'll teach me how to fight?"  
  
"I think you're learning that pretty well on your own, young man," Mai called from the other room. "Yen, I swear if you teach that boy anything..."  
  
Yen winced. "N-no dear, not a thing," he called back. Then he winked at Houjun. The boy grinned back at his father excitedly; that wink meant he WAS going to be taught something! "Demo, I do have something for you this time, Houjun-kun. I think it's time you learned how to use this..."  
  
He reached into his pocket.  
  
"Nani no da?" Houjun asked excitedly, peering up at his father.   
  
A moment later, Yen pulled out a small knife with its own sheath, and held it out for Houjun to see, but not touch; at least not yet.  
  
Houjun stared at it, wide-eyed. "Dad... honestly?" he asked.  
  
"Hai. This is yours, Houjun. I'll be teaching you to fight with this- I'm staying for a year this time."  
  
"Hontou?! Wai!"  
  
Yen smiled. "I'm glad you think so. Now come, I'll show you a few basics with this."  
  
"WAI! ARIGATO!"  
  
~*~  
  
Houjun was supposed to be asleep. He knew he probably should be.  
  
But his father was home, after nearly a year without him! He was listening at the door, trying to hear his parents from his room (unlike some poor families, he had his own room with a door, a fact he was very proud of). From what he'd seen earlier this evening, he could tell his dad had something interesting to say.  
  
And he'd be darned if he missed something important!  
  
"So how was it?" Mai asked quietly.  
  
Houjun heard his father sigh. "The order still won't accept anyone back. That includes anyone who's married... or anyone who decides to leave. The head is an absolute jack- er, an idiot," he said quickly.  
  
The blue-haired boy frowned. His father had nearly said a new curse, he was sure of it. And here he wasn't able to hear what it was. "Hmph."  
  
"I see. So still no beads, ne?" Mai said.  
  
"Iie. But they keep insisting on trying to take my staff. They say that it has amazing channeling power. Though I have to admit that's the case, that still gives them no right to try and take something of mine against my will."  
  
"..."  
  
Another sigh was heard. "They say that it's powerful enough for a future possible Seishi."  
  
"A Suzaku Seishi?"  
  
"Hai. Apparently they think that if they 'purify' the staff it'll increase channeling power, and it could help a Seishi some time when they were in need." Houjun heard his father snort. "They could take anyone else's staff, they're all about as pure as this one."  
  
"Maybe they like how it jingles," Mai suggested. Houjun could picture her smiling.  
  
Yen laughed softly. "Perhaps. Who knows? But the recent head of the order is very old. With luck he'll retire and someone with an actual head on his shoulders will come along."  
  
"I know how much you enjoyed being a monk, love," Mai said. "I just wish I could do something."  
  
"Iie. And that is an even worse case going on, Mai-chan." There was a long pause. "They still think women are less than human."  
  
"Of course they do. They don't know any better, and we've never been given the chance to prove otherwise. They're the same as the rest of the world."  
  
Was it Houjun, or did he hear a bit of... anger? Unhappiness? Well, he heard something negative in her voice when she said that.  
  
Then he started. Women less than human? Well, that WOULD explain why Kouran was such a pain, but his mother? Less than human? That wasn't right, was it?  
  
"Well, maybe next time you go you can talk sense into them."  
  
"Oh, and I did manage to sell that necklace and the cloak you made, dear. Both to a guard at the capital itself! He said his daughter would be pleased."  
  
There were some jingling noises.  
  
"Oh, my word! This is enough to keep us going an entire year! Were they really worth this much?"  
  
"I'm not sure. He saw my staff and must have assumed I was still a monk because he kept on bowing at me. Maybe he thought I'd purified it or something..."  
  
Houjun heard a distinct smacking sound.  
  
"Itai... Mai-chan, I DID get money for us, didn't I?"  
  
"Hai, that's true..."  
  
Another long pause. Houjun frowned, trying to take in all of the information he'd just heard. His father wanted to be part of some important order, but they wouldn't let him 'cause he was married. Women were less than human... were they? They didn't seem like it. Well, except for Kouran, but that was normal.   
  
He crawled back to his bed and lay there for a while, letting those thoughts drift away. What did it matter? His father was home!  
  
With a grin, he started to drift off to sleep...  
  
"Houjun! Oi, Houjun!"  
  
The blue-haired boy jerked awake again with a start as he looked out his window, finding both Ryu and Hikou outside. Then he blinked as he recalled what was going to happen tonight. That's right, they were off to see if Ryu's house was really haunted!  
  
Forgetting everything but this fact, he slipped out of his window hurriedly and joined his two grinning friends.  
  
"Ready, Houjun?" Hikou asked.  
  
Houjun glanced back at his house, where his folks were probably still talking. Then he turned back and nodded with a grin of his own. "Hai, minna!"  
  
"Then let's go find that ghost!"  
  
"Hai!" the three chorused.  
  
~*~  
  
Well, what'll become of the boys? Will they find their ghost? ^^  
  
I apologize for the lack of kawaii-ness in this chapter. But I thought it was time for Houjun's father to come home, and you know kids are bound to listen in on their folks' conversations. And that's especially true if they haven't seen one of their parents (or even both!) for a while.  
  
Did anyone realize what I added into this chapter? Houjun's father's staff sounds familiar, doesn't it? And he used to be a monk, if no one caught that. Turned in his beads an' all to marry Houjun's mom. Also, Houjun's powers are slowly growing, if you hadn't noticed. No one else really knows about it, and he can only use it once in a while right now seeing as he hasn't trained it yet. However, he will get impressions of important stuff sometimes.  
  
Random note- I know none of you are reading this, but has anyone noticed the metal part on Chichiri's staff (on the top) looks kinda like a heart? And his scar looks vaguely like a bird diving at something? I'm serious! I'm looking at a picture of him now and I can make out a bird! Yes, I realize I have too much free time. ^^  
  
Sorry for ranting. I hope you enjoyed this. Until next time! (Waves) 


	7. Chapter Seven!

Chapter Seven- GHOST!  
Notes- The kawaii-ness returns with a vengeance! ^^ Enjoy.  
  
~*~  
  
Kouran frowned slightly as she glanced back at the bushes where she'd been hiding the past few minutes. If anyone else had been around to take a look at her, they'd see uncertainty pass over her features before it was replaced by determination.  
  
Those boys were going to see something at Ryu's house- that much she knew. What, exactly, she wasn't sure; she hadn't heard much of their conversation that morning. However, she DID know one thing.   
  
She was going to follow them and see what was going on!  
  
After all, boys would only manage to get themselves in trouble. Her mother herself told Kouran that it was the women's job to keep the boys in line. Kouran lifted her chin a little now, smirking in satisfaction. If she caught them, then she might get a treat, too.  
  
Then again, she HAD sneaked out of the house to get here...  
  
Ah, no second thoughts! Now it was time to see what Ryu, Hikou and Houjun-chan were up to.  
  
The young girl crept up to the house as she saw three small shadows about her size creep to the next house over. She smiled again. Boys. So easy to follow!  
  
She followed them, keeping about a house away from the boys. It was a full moon, so she could see them pretty well. However, she was pretty certain no one could see her; she took extra precautions to make sure of that.  
  
Finally, the group reached Ryu's house, and Kouran hid behind another bush. She peered out from behind it, watching the three boys sit and whisper to each other in the dark. She frowned, wishing she could hear what they were saying...  
  
~*~  
  
"Do you guys got a weird feeling?" Ryu whispered.  
  
Houjun and Hikou glanced at each other. "Like what?" Hikou whispered back.  
  
"Like we're bein' watched."  
  
"Hai," Houjun said. "I've felt it for a while, though I dunno why..." His right hand trailed down to his knee, hoping for a sign of some sort. However, he didn't feel any warmth there; only a cramp beginning. With a sigh, he ran his left hand through his hair instead.   
  
"Maybe it's the ghost!" Ryu said.  
  
"But I thought you said it stayed at YOUR house," Hikou said.  
  
"Oh. Yeah. Well, a ghost's gotta leave sometime, ya know!" Ryu said defensively. "Maybe it had to get somethin' to eat."  
  
"Maybe it ate a few of the meaner kids," Hikou suggested.  
  
"Nah, most likely honey cakes. They're so good I'd bet anyone would go for 'em, even ghosts!" Ryu paused to wave a hand in front of Hikou's face. "Ano... Hikou?"  
  
"Honey cakes..."  
  
Houjun sighed. "Ne, didn't I tell you not to mention them, Ryu-kun? Now we'll NEVER get t' see if there's a ghost or not!"  
  
"I told you there was one!"  
  
"Yeah, but I ain't seen it yet."  
  
"..." Ryu sighed. "Fine. First, we have to get to the tree."  
  
"Tree? What tree?"  
  
"That tree!" Ryu pointed to a nearby tree.  
  
"What for?" Houjun asked.   
  
"The ghost DOES like to sit under it sometimes," Ryu announced.  
  
"It does...?"  
  
"Hai! Saw it myself! Only a few nights ago!"  
  
Houjun gave his friend another skeptical look. "If you say so, Ryu-kun. Let's head over and take a look."  
  
"Hai!" the boys chorused.  
  
~*~  
  
Kouran blinked. She had managed to catch snippets of the conversation, things like, "at YOUR house," and "honey cakes," though not much else.   
  
"They're after honey cakes?" she murmured incredulously. "Why at this house? What are they up to...?" She sniffed as they began to glance from side to side, then head over to a nearby tree. "Stupid boys, they'll get caught for sure."  
  
However, it wouldn't be half as fun if she were the one to catch them. Thus, she began to sneak after them, careful not to be seen as well...  
  
~*~  
  
The three boys stopped at the tree and peered up into the branches cautiously, almost expecting something scary to jump out and eat them. However, only gently swaying branches met their expectant gazes, and after a few moments Houjun sighed and sat down.  
  
"Ano... Ghost-san?" Ryu called.  
  
The other two immediately clamped their hands on his mouth.  
  
"SHH! You wanna get us in trouble?!" Hikou whispered.  
  
"Hai, I don't wanna get in trouble!" Houjun added.  
  
They heard a muffled, "Gomen." Satisfied, they let go. Then their gazes returned to the not-so-interesting tree.  
  
"I don't think there's a ghost up there," Houjun said.  
  
"...Yeah. Let's check out my house instead," Ryu said.  
  
"Oi, Ryu-kun, this is getting boring..."  
  
"Quiet, Houjun! The ghost'll hear ya and eat ya! We only wanna see it, not meet it!" Ryu hissed, now clamping a hand on Houjun's mouth.  
  
The other boys could hear a muffled, "Daaaaa," coming from behind their hands. After a moment, they let him go.  
  
"So let's head to the house and take a look there," Ryu suggested. "If Ghost-san ain't at the tree, he's almost always in my room."  
  
"Hontou?" Hikou asked, eyes wide. "How do you sleep?"  
  
"With my lucky bracelet charm!" Ryu announced, sticking his arm out for the other boys to inspect.  
  
"Ano... ain't jewelry for girls?" Houjun asked.  
  
"Oh, shut up," Ryu said. "Are we gonna check or not?"  
  
Houjun glanced back towards the way they had come, where his warm bed waited for him. Then the blue-haired boy sighed. "Sure. Let's go."  
  
~*~  
  
Kouran laughed as she watched the boys.The three had finally given up on staring at the tree (for whatever reason they were out here), and were peering in the window of Ryu's house now, ducking occasionally as though they saw someone moving around in there.  
  
As Kouran neared and hid behind yet another bush, she heard them whispering to each other again. This time, she was close enough to listen...  
  
"Ne, I'm sleepy Hikou."  
  
"Fine, then go home Houjun-kun. We'll tell ya all about seein' the ghost!" came Hikou's voice.  
  
Kouran raised an eyebrow. A ghost, eh? Well, THAT certainly explained a few things. No wonder this couldn't wait until morning.   
  
Dumb boys.  
  
"This is stupid," Houjun complained.  
  
At least ONE of the boys had SOME sense.  
  
"Aw, c'mon Houjun, just another minute and we'll go in," Ryu whispered. "I'll make sure my folks don't see us, and we'll find the ghost fer sure!"  
  
There was a long silence. Kouran peeked from behind her hiding spot to see that the three boys were looking at each other questioningly, as though they weren't sure what to do.  
  
Then Houjun sighed. "Hai, let's go in."  
  
Kouran quickly took back what she had thought about any of the boys having any sense at all as the three smiled at each other and started towards the door.  
  
She waited at her spot for a moment or two, then grinned and hurried towards the window where she proceeded to try and climb in.  
  
"I'll jus' wake up Ryu's folks!" she muttered. "Then I'll get all the treats I want!" With a nod, she slipped in...  
  
~*~  
  
Crreeeaaaak...  
  
"Careful!" Ryu hissed at Houjun.  
  
"Gomen," his friend mumbled.  
  
"Ya should be! Ya coulda woken up my folks!"   
  
"I said gomen," Houjun said, shooting an annoyed glance at his friend. However, it was forgotten as he had to yawn at that moment. "Da. Let's find this ghost o' yours soon, Ryu-kun..."  
  
"Hai, hai! That's why we're here!" Ryu said quietly, grinning and giving a victory sign. "Come on, into my room!"  
  
His room wasn't really his own room, seeing as he didn't have his own door. Actually, it was part of the kitchen, in it's own little corner. Ryu's mother had set up a number of blankets to hang around the area so Ryu would have a private place to change and sleep and whatnot.   
  
The boys peered through these blankets now, carefully trying to see if they could find anyone or anything in there.  
  
"Ghost-san?" Ryu whispered. It was barely audible to the other boys.  
  
"I don't think he's in here," Houjun mumbled.  
  
The three boys stared at the bed in frustration, then turned away.  
  
"What now, Ryu-kun?"  
  
"I dunno. I thought we'd find it already," Ryu said, scratching the back of his head.  
  
"Maybe it's in yer folk's room?" Hikou suggested.  
  
"Hai! Maybe!" Ryu said, brightening at the thought.   
  
"Iie! We're NOT gonna go in his parent's room!" Houjun said. He shot his friends both a glare. "I wanna go home and sleep!"  
  
"Fine," Hikou huffed and turned away.  
  
"Come on, minna," Houjun said. "We're not gonna find the ghost tonight. Can't we try tomorrow or something?"  
  
"We could... but what if it moves out by then?" Ryu asked, eyes suddenly shining with tears "Then you'll NEVER see it!"  
  
"What if it left already?" Houjun countered.  
  
Ryu continued to stare at him with huge, shiny eyes.  
  
"Come on, Houjun," Hikou said. "Make a deal; five minutes more, an' if we don't find nothing, then we can leave."  
  
Houjun sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Alright, minna," he said.  
  
"Yosh! Let's go!"  
  
The boys turned to leave when they heard a thump coming from the window.   
  
"N-nani?" Ryu whispered.   
  
"What was that?" Hikou asked.  
  
Another thumping noise reached their ears, and some barely audible mumbling sounds as well.  
  
"Daaaa?!" Houjun asked, turning to stare at where Ryu's "room" was. "Is that..."  
  
"It's Ghost-san!" Ryu said, eyes widening even further. The only difference was that Houjun could now see a hint of fear in his eyes.  
  
"Hontou?" Houjun and Hikou asked.  
  
They heard yet another thumping noise.  
  
Ryu reached for a cooking pan and took a deep breath. "Okay, Ghost-san, come out!" he whispered. Then he added, "Ano, if you wanna anyway."  
  
There was a long silence.  
  
"Maybe that ain't a ghost, it's just a cat or something?" Hikou suggested.   
  
However, before they could decide on what to do or say next, they saw something move behind the blankets. All three froze.  
  
"Whoooo goooess theeeere?" asked a female voice.  
  
Then they saw a form press against the blankets.  
  
"DAAAAAA! GHOST!"   
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIEEE!" Hikou and Ryu screamed, fear-hugging each other.  
  
With that, the three boys turned and ran, screaming, from the house.  
  
~*~  
  
Kouran couldn't help but burst into helpless giggles at the sight and sound of the boys turning tail and running. It was such a priceless moment! The young girl fell back onto Ryu's bed for a moment, gasping with laughter.  
  
"Stupid boys! Ha! When I talk to 'em tomorrow they will SO be embarrassed an' then I can black... er, black... er, make 'em do stuff!" Kouran said, grinning.  
  
"Oh, will you?" asked a voice beyond the blankets.  
  
Kouran, startled, shrieked at the sight of a hand pressing into the blankets towards her.  
  
"What are you doing in my house, young lady?"  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAIIIYEEEEE!" she screamed, and with that jumped out the window.   
  
Gaining an almost godlike speed, she kept on running and screaming until she reached her house, where she hid under the covers shivering.  
  
"Gh- gh -ghost! Stupid boys!" she cried, and pulled her blankets over her head. She remained there for the rest of the night.  
  
~*~  
  
Back at Ryu's house, Ryu's mother blinked as she peered after the little girl who'd been in Ryu's bed. Then she shook her head and turned away from the window.  
  
"Some kids. Now... where on earth is Ryu?"  
  
~*~  
  
Outside by the river, the boys were fear-hugging each other and shaking, though Ryu did have a big grin on his face.  
  
"I... I t-t-t-told ya there w-w-w-was a ghost!" he said.  
  
"Shut up," was his answer.  
  
~*~  
  
Whee! And chapter seven is done! What did everyone think? ^^ Later! 


	8. Chapter Eight!

Chapter Eight- Surprises of a Special Sort  
Notes- All right, Shinochi, you mentioned 'em, you got em! ^^ What, you all may ask? Well, go on and read! Please enjoy.  
  
~*~  
  
"It's so cold out there," Hikou mumbled as he rubbed his arms. The young man shivered. "How can anyone stand going out there?"  
  
"I'm yer best friend, Hikou-kun," Houjun said indignantly. "A little wind ain't gonna change that- ACHOO!" He rubbed his nose.  
  
Hikou gave his friend a grateful look. "Wow, my best friend," he said with a grin and wide, sparkling eyes.   
  
"ACHOO!" was his reply.  
  
The dark-haired boy scooted away. "Jus' keep your cold, though. I don't want it."  
  
Houjun sniffed and rubbed his nose again. "I can't help it," he whined. "Sides, there's nothing to do back home. Mom's been actin' weird lately."  
  
"Hontou?" Hikou said, blinking. He glanced up at his friend curiously.  
  
"Hai. Right now she's so... mushy." Houjun shrugged. "Dad doesn't seem to know why either, but it's weird; she just eats all of our food and keeps hugging me." He made a face. "She's almost as bad as Kouran."  
  
Both boys shuddered at that thought. Mothers were their only exception to not liking girls, after all, and having their mothers act in such a way was, well, scary.  
  
"Maybe she's just sick too," Hikou suggested. "Or... drunk? My folks told me sometimes people act weird when they're drunk or sick."  
  
"Maybe..." Houjun considered this for a moment, then shrugged again. "But right now..."  
  
"Hai! Mama, where's our honey cakes?!" Hikou asked as politely as he could. He was glancing over at his mother, who was standing in front of a nearby table.  
  
His mother turned around, and the boys could see that her eyes were twinkling in amusement. "Honestly, Hikou-kun, if you eat any more of these you might become one yourself," she said. But she handed each boy one cake anyway.  
  
"Uh-uh, I won't!" Hikou said, shaking his head. "That can't happen!"  
  
"Really? I know this one little girl who turned into a berry because she loved them so much..."  
  
"Was it Kouran?" Hikou asked hopefully. "And can I eat her?"  
  
"Hikou!" his mother said.  
  
"Just asking," he mumbled. But he immediately cheered up when he took a bite into his cake.  
  
"You boys..." his mother shook her head before turning back to the table. "By the way, Houjun-kun..."  
  
"Hai?" he said around a mouthful of cake.  
  
"Swallow before you speak, dear."  
  
The blue-haired boy did as he was told. "Hai?" he repeated.  
  
"I have here a loaf of bread for your mother. Why don't you get back over there and give it to her? Once you're all warmed up, of course. We can't have you getting a cold. We haven't had a professional healer in these parts for at least two years." Hikou's mother turned to hand him the loaf, giving him a concerned look in the process.  
  
"I'm fine," he said, giving her a polite smile. "Arigato."  
  
"Not a problem. Here, take a blanket."   
  
"Mama!" Hikou protested. "He ain't a lil' kid, ya know!"  
  
"Hai!" Houjun added, shooting his friend a grateful smile.  
  
"No, he isn't. But neither of you are big yet either, and if you want to become big kids, then you have to put up with your nagging mothers. Take the blanket, Houjun-kun."  
  
The young boy sighed, but took it and wrapped it around his own shoulders anyway. "Alright."  
  
All activity in the house paused as they heard a young girl's singing and laughing outside.  
  
"Who...?"  
  
Both boys hurried to the door and peered out curiously. Who in their right mind would want to wander around outside when it was this cold?  
  
Then both shook their heads. Of course.   
  
Kouran was racing around, her head turned up towards the sky as though she was looking for something. At first, it just seemed to the boys as though she'd gone mad; then, with a closer look, they realized what exactly she was watching for.  
  
"SNOW!" they both screamed. Forgetting both the blanket and the loaf of bread, Houjun was first out the door. Hikou was not far behind. "It's gonna snow!"  
  
Hikou's mother watched them go, then sighed and picked up both the loaf and the blanket. "At least it landed on the blanket," she said, looking over the bread with relief. Then she shook her head at the sight of the children. "Kids..."  
  
Kouran, for once, was not taking any notice of the boys, but was busy twirling around. Her head was still tilted upwards so she could watch the flakes begin to drift down. Also, her arms were now out as she spun, as though she wanted to catch the flakes too.  
  
Both boys were ignoring her too, for the moment. They were also running around and cheering for the snow.  
  
"It hasn't snowed for so long!"  
  
"Since last winter!"   
  
"Baka," that was Kouran, "it only snows in winter!"  
  
"I knew that!" Hikou retorted.  
  
"Bet ya didn't."  
  
"Bet I DID."  
  
"Did not."  
  
"DID TOO!"  
  
"Haaaaai!" Houjun laughed as he got a taste of a flake on his tongue. "Snow!"  
  
Hikou and Kouran forgot their little fight and sweat-dropped at the sight of Houjun dancing around trying to catch more flakes in his mouth.  
  
"Ano, Houjun-kun? Ya look kinda dumb..."  
  
"I think he's funny!" Kouran piped up.  
  
"You would."  
  
"What was that, Hikou-CHAN?"  
  
"If there was a snowball 'round, I'd hit ya wit' it right now," Hikou mumbled. Then he dodged as Kouran threw a punch in his direction. "Girls ain't supposed ta fight!" he sang out.  
  
"Boys ain't supposed ta threaten girls!"  
  
"ACHOO!"  
  
Again, both stopped when Houjun stopped his little dance to rub at his nose, then sneeze again.  
  
"ACHOO! Daaa..."  
  
"I thought this would happen," came an exasperated voice.  
  
All three looked up as Hikou's mother came out into the cold, with blanket and loaf of bread in hand. "Young man, you are going back to your house right now, you hear?" she asked him.   
  
Houjun sniffled and gave her a piteous look.   
  
"Oh, no, don't give me that. Come on, on with you!"   
  
Hikou and Kouran watched with some amusement as Hikou's mother wrapped the blanket around Houjun, handed him the loaf, and gently shoved him to get him started home. Houjun gave his friends an apologetic glance before doing as he was told.  
  
~*~  
  
"There you are," Mai said as Houjun walked in. "Where have you been?"  
  
"ACHOO!"  
  
"That doesn't sound good," Yen noted. He put down a scroll he'd been poring over and walked over to his son. He took the bread and set it on a table before putting a hand on Houjun's forehead. "Doesn't really have a fever..."  
  
"A little cold then," Mai said with a smile.   
  
"Most likely."  
  
Houjun rubbed his nose.   
  
"So where were you?" Mai asked again.  
  
"At Hikou's," was the reply. "It's snowing outside."  
  
"Is it? Wonderful. I always love it when it snows," Mai sighed. She stood and moved over to the window to look out for a moment.  
  
Yen and Houjun sweat-dropped. "Mai-chan, dear?" Yen questioned.  
  
Mai smiled and returned her gaze to her boys. "Dear, Houjun, I have something to tell you two..."  
  
"Don't tell me you're ill?" Yen asked, alarmed.  
  
Houjun simply sniffed and tried to hold back another sneeze as he waited for his mother to continue.   
  
"Iie, I'm not ill at all. Honey... we have another one on the way."  
  
The blue-haired boy gave his folks a blank expression. Yen, however, was far from confused. A wide grin slowly grew on his face as the news sank in.  
  
"W-w-w-well, I'll have to stick around, t-t-then," he stammered. "I'll take up something here!"  
  
"Like what?" Mai asked.  
  
"Another one what?" Houjun asked. He was still confused.  
  
"Maybe... FARMING! I can do farming!" Yen declared. "I'll make a profit and take care of all of you..."  
  
"Another one WHAT?" Houjun insisted.  
  
"Mama's having a baby, dear," Mai said.  
  
The blue-haired boy gave her another confused look. "Baby?" Then his expression cleared. "Ooh. Is it a brother?"  
  
"I don't know yet, honey. We won't know until it comes out."  
  
"Comes out where?"  
  
"Here." Mai patted her stomach.  
  
"Oh." What was a baby doing in her stomach?   
  
"Yes! Farming! I'll get started right now! Come, Houjun!" Yen said, still overjoyed. Without waiting for his son to reply, he grabbed Houjun by the hand and proceeded to drag him out of the house.  
  
Once out, they went into a nearby field. Houjun watched as his father picked up a shovel and started to dig.  
  
"I'll plant the best produce and then I'll sell it and take care of everyone and," Yen continued to babble. After a moment, however, he said, "Darned ground! Farmers must be strong to dig through this!" He hit the ground with the shovel.  
  
"Ano... Dad?" Houjun asked uneasily.  
  
"Hai?"  
  
"...Planting doesn't start till spring."  
  
"..." Yen put down the shovel. "I see."  
  
There was a long silence. Then Houjun sneezed again.  
  
"Well, then, there's no reason for us to be out here! We must take care of your mother! We must get the best foods for her, and some sweets and be on our BEST behavior, ne Houjun-kun?" Yen babbled. He started dragging his son back into the house.  
  
The blue-haired boy put his head in his hands as he was dragged. What was the big deal about the baby, anyway?  
  
Adults are weird, he decided.   
  
Glad he wasn't going to be one.  
  
~*~  
  
There's chapter eight! What did everyone think? I checked out a few profiles too, and I found that indeed there are many records saying Chichiri had younger siblings.   
  
A question about the story- how long would everyone prefer me to keep it? I am aiming to keep going up until Houjun proposes to Kouran. Would you all like that, or would you prefer that I stay in their younger childhood years?  
  
Thanks for reading! 


	9. Chapter Nine!

Chapter Nine- Anticipation  
  
~*~  
  
"...You're kidding," Hikou said.  
  
"I ain't," Houjun declared, looking seriously at his friend. "My Mama's got a baby stuck in her stomach."  
  
"How'd it get there?" his friend asked skeptically.   
  
The blue-haired boy could only shrug. "I dunno, and when I asked my folks didn't tell me. It's some big secret grownups know or somethin'."  
  
"Grownups," both sighed theatrically.  
  
"Amen to that," added a third voice.  
  
Houjun jumped and turned around to see someone familiar standing in Hikou's doorway. "Kouran?" he asked.  
  
"What're YOU doing here?" Hikou asked.  
  
"Hiya, Houjun-chan." Kouran cast him an innocent smile. Then the smile faded into a glare that she directed at Hikou. "My Mama sent me over to give some bread t' yer Mama. Don't be so mean. I'm leaving soon anyway," she sniffed. "I don't want nothin' to do with you BOYS."  
  
"Good riddance," both muttered.  
  
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Kouran demanded.  
  
"My, what's all this yelling?" Hikou's mother came out from her bedroom and peered at the three curiously. "Ah, Kouran-chan, how are you?"  
  
Kouran was immediately all smiles again. "Hello, my Mama sent ya some bread," she said, offering up a loaf to the older woman.  
  
"Why, arigato Kouran-chan, this smells lovely. I'm sure we'll have it for dinner, ne Hikou?"  
  
Hikou mumbled something inaudible under his breath. While his mother took it as an affirmative and left for a moment, both Kouran and Houjun had a feeling that what he'd said was anything but complimentary. Thus Kouran felt it necessary to edge over and stomp on his foot, smiling all the while as though nothing was happening.  
  
"ITAI!" Hikou cried. He hopped up and down while tears streamed down his face. "Kouran, you-!"  
  
"Nani?" she asked innocently. She shrieked as he aimed a punch at her face. "HE'S GONNA HURT ME!" she howled.  
  
Hikou's mother rushed in, eyes wide in shock. "Hikou!"  
  
The dark-haired boy stopped in mid-punch, nearly falling over from his own momentum (not to mention shock at his mother's sudden appearance). He turned around to look at her incredulously. "Demo, she-"  
  
"No excuses, Hikou. I didn't raise you to pick fights with young ladies. Apologize."  
  
Hikou winced while Kouran continued to smile. To add insult to injury, she whistled a cheerful tune in his face. "C'mon, Hikou-chan, apologize," she sang.  
  
The dark-haired boy growled, but Houjun put a hand on his friend's shoulder and shook his head. They both knew better than to get back at Kouran while a parent was in the room. Hikou's expression became pleading, but his mother remained stern. His shoulders slumped in defeat.  
  
"Sorry," he mumbled.  
  
"Nani? I can't hear you, Hikou-chan!" Kouran said with a cheerful smile.  
  
"I said I was sorry!" he said, a little louder.  
  
"Oh. Well..." She shrugged.  
  
"Aren't you gonna ac- acc- take it?" he asked after a moment.  
  
"It's accept," Kouran said helpfully.  
  
"Whatever..." Hikou glared at her.  
  
Houjun hung his head. He begged silently for Kouran to just accept it; there was no telling what an angry Hikou would do for revenge nowadays. Especially when it concerned Kouran!  
  
Finally, the dark-haired girl smiled and nodded graciously. "I accept your apology, Hikou-chan," she said.  
  
"Arigatou," he mumbled.  
  
"Good, now that that's taken care of," Hikou's mother said, giving her son a stern look. "Why don't you all head outside and play a bit? It's warm enough. Suzaku knows why it's this warm at this time of the winter, but..." She wandered off again, muttering to herself.  
  
The three waited for a long moment to return. When she didn't, Hikou turned to Houjun. Almost at the same time, the best friends nodded. Then they looked at Kouran.  
  
She noticed their staring and took a nervous step back. "N-nani, why're you staring at me like that?" she asked. "Ain't anyone told you it's not nice to stare at people?"  
  
They continued to stare at her.  
  
Unnerved, the girl waved a hand, trying to get them to blink. Neither moved. "C'mon, this isn't funny... I'll tell on you!"  
  
Then she frowned at her own words. She couldn't tell, because they weren't doing anything. As sweet as the adults found her, she didn't want to push it by tattling. What could she say, after all? That the boys were staring at her? Her mom would only say it was a compliment...  
  
"Will you stop it?!" she finally asked, glaring back.  
  
The two continued to stare.  
  
With an annoyed shriek she turned and stormed out of the house.  
  
The instant she did, both boys sighed in relief, blinked the moisture back into their eyes, and did a high five. "That's two points fer us, seeing as there's two of us," Hikou said.  
  
"Hai, hai!" Houjun replied with a grin.  
  
"She was so mean," Hikou said. "I didn't do nothin', and she got me in trouble! Mama'll believe anything she hears from a little girl!"  
  
Houjun put a hand on his friend's shoulder again. "Aw, cheer up, Hikou-kun. Tell ya what, we can go t' my house and play there for a while." At his friend's dubious look he added, "Mama's been real nice lately. She just bought a whole bunch of honey cakes..."  
  
He knew he'd said the magic words when he found himself being dragged back to his house by a very eager Hikou. "Why didn't ya say so? Let's go, Houjun-kun!"  
  
"Itai no da..."  
  
~*~  
  
"They're just so mean," Kouran groused. "I wish I coulda hit 'em, but not in front of Hikou's Mama, you know?"  
  
A girl her age, Akemi, nodded at this. "Ya did the right thing, Kouran-chan," she assured her friend. "Sides, ya could get them back next time!"  
  
"How, though? They're so creepy when they stare at ya an' don't blink an' don't move and... ugh! Stupid boys!"  
  
Akemi grinned. "Well, fer Hikou ya could carry 'round a honey cake, or jus' mention 'em. He won't care WHO ya were then, he'd just wanna know where the cakes were."  
  
"True... yer a smart friend, Akemi-chan. Demo... what about Houjun?"  
  
"I dunno." Akemi tapped her chin thoughtfully, staring into space. "But he's usually a bit nicer, ne?"  
  
"Hai, but when he's around his stupid friend he's mean," Kouran replied.  
  
"Well... make fun of his hair!" Akemi suggested.  
  
"Eh?"  
  
"He's got the brightest hair in the village, ya know? The rest of us, sides his folks anyway, got dark hair."  
  
"Yeah, but, that's kinda dis... dis... making fun of people cause they LOOK different."  
  
"True."   
  
The two girls sat beside the river, shivering in the cool mid-February air and trying to come up with something to get back at Houjun with.  
  
~*~  
  
Back in his house, Houjun sneezed twice.  
  
"My, someone must be thinking about you, Houjun-kun," Mai said teasingly.   
  
"My nose itches," was his reply, rubbing said part of his anatomy.  
  
"Uh-huh. Another honey cake, Hikou dear?"  
  
"Hai, kudasai!" Hikou said, starry-eyed. He held out his already-sticky hands for another one.  
  
Mai laughed. "You certainly like to eat, don't you?"  
  
"Jus' honey cakes," he said.  
  
"Well, save it for after you've eaten something a bit more healthy, boys," Yen said, coming in. He had a fishing pole in one hand, a bucket of fish in the other.  
  
"Dear! You went fishing out in that? It's cold outside!" Mai exclaimed.  
  
"Not as cold as it has been. You won't believe it; it feels like spring already, love," Yen replied. He set the bucket down. "Anyway, we have dinner on our hands now. You want to join us, Hikou-kun?"  
  
"Hai! Can I have honey cakes if I eat fish?" Hikou asked.  
  
Both parents laughed.  
  
Houjun sweat-dropped. "Da, Hikou-kun, you've had five already," he said.  
  
"I know, five whole honey cakes..." Hikou went into his own little world for a while.  
  
The blue-haired boy poked his friend in the arm once, twice, then gave up and returned to looking out the window.   
  
"Well, there's an idea for you, dear," Mai said in the background. "If you caught fish and sold it at market you'd make a pretty nice profit."  
  
"I'm not sure, Mai-chan. Fish stay fresh only for so long," Yen replied.   
  
"That's true... or you could, say, just offer to go fishing for other people and ask them to pay a bit for you if you catch something for them."  
  
"That's not a bad thought at all," Yen said. Houjun could almost see a smile on his father's face, and had to grin himself. "Ne, and Houjun could help me too. How about it, Houjun? Wanna learn fishing?"  
  
Said boy turned around to look at his father. "Eh? Ya mean now?"  
  
"Iie, when it's a bit warmer."  
  
"Mmkay."  
  
"Great! Now I'll have to get a fire started so we can cook this here fish..." Yen wandered off with the fish and a knife in hand, muttering to himself.  
  
Meanwhile, something had caught Houjun's eye in the window. He peered out to see Kouran and another girl- Akemi? Yes, that was it- make their way down the dirt road to town. Both appeared to be laughing about something, and were making odd gestures with their hands.  
  
Then Kouran noticed Houjun watching, because she paused and pointed at him, still laughing. Akemi pointed too.   
  
Wondering what was going on, Houjun waved at them.  
  
That seemed to send them into more hysterical laughter than before. They stopped pointing, however, and waved at him.  
  
He cocked his head to one side, wondering what they found so funny about him. Had he said something before? He couldn't remember...  
  
Finally, still smiling, both girls waved again, and walked off when he waved back.   
  
Houjun lowered his hand, shaking his head in disbelief.   
  
"Who's out there?" Hikou asked, coming up behind him.  
  
"Jus' Kouran and Akemi."  
  
"Then why're ya waving to THEM? C'mon, let's have more honey cakes..." Hikou grabbed his friend by the arm and dragged him back to where his mother was.  
  
Why was he waving to them, indeed? Kouran had done something pretty mean to Hikou before. He figured he did it just to be polite. After all, one had to be polite even when they were mad at someone.  
  
Deciding to dismiss the matter, Houjun obediently followed his friend back to his mother, wondering how he'd convince her that they should have at least one more cake before dinner.  
  
~*~  
  
I wonder what they're gonna come up with for Houjun? Or what they did come up with, by the way they were acting? ^^ We'll see, won't we? I hope you enjoyed this.   
  
I want to thank you all for answering my question last chapter. However, I got a number of different preferences about what I should do. So here's how this is gonna work. I'll continue this story up until around the time everyone's about twelve. Then, if people still really enjoy this (myself included), then I'll write a sequel that'll last up until Houjun proposes. Deal?  
  
Thank you again! 


	10. Chapter Ten!

Chapter Ten- Daydreams  
  
~*~  
  
"Aah, this is great," Hikou said. He stretched his arms over his head before falling back against the tree. "Finally it's warm an' dry enough for us to stay out here long as we like. I hate being inside."  
  
"Me too," Houjun said with a nod. He joined his friend and sighed. "It's purdy out here."  
  
"Hai. Can't wait till the water gets warm enough."  
  
"Me neither."  
  
Both grinned at the thought of swimming again, then shivered as a gust of cool March air blew on through. Then they returned to relaxing together outside.  
  
"Ne, Houjun?"  
  
"Hai?"  
  
"Didja notice yer Mama's getting fat?"  
  
Houjun gave his friend an offended look. "She's just a little bigger, she ain't fat!"  
  
Hikou put his hands up in defense. "Demo, she's GETTING fat." He ducked a blow from his friend. "Houjun-kun! It's true! Stop hitting me!"   
  
The blue-haired boy stopped after a moment, giving his friend a pout. "She ain't getting fat," he mumbled. "Mama said it's somethin' that happens when people have babies. She says they get all round and stuff to make room for the baby in their stomach."  
  
"I still dun understand why it's in there in th' first place. Did she eat it or somethin'?" Hikou asked.  
  
The two sat there for a while, considering this idea. Then Houjun shook his head. "Nah. Mama wouldn't do that. Sides, it don't make sense; why wouldja want ta eat a baby and let it grow in ya like that?"  
  
"True."  
  
Silence reigned for a good ten or so minutes as the boys let their minds drift, relaxing in the cool air and relishing the idea of being outside by themselves for the first time in a while. Hikou shifted against the tree and crossed his arms, obviously preparing to nap where he was. Houjun lay back on the grass, staring up at the clouds, deep in thought.  
  
Finally, Houjun had to break the silence. "Ne, Hikou-kun?"  
  
"Hai?" came the sleepy reply.  
  
"Have you noticed... somethin' missing?"  
  
"Eh?" Hikou blinked the sleepiness out of his eyes. "Whatcha mean, Houjun-kun?"  
  
"I mean, it's been a while since we've been bugged by Kouran-chan..." Houjun trailed off.  
  
"Hai, ain't it great? Maybe she finally learned we dun want her around and she decided t' act like a girl for once," Hikou said. He grinned and gave a little shrug.   
  
"Yeah, it's nice, demo... it's weird."  
  
"Got too used to having a girl following ya around?" Hikou asked.   
  
Houjun nodded, then shrugged. "I dunno. It's just weird," he repeated. "Like, if we start talking about fun stuff I think she'll show up and make fun of us or tell on us or something. But she doesn't show up. Every time I see her she's out with that Akemi girl, and they always start laughin' when they look at us."  
  
"Girl stuff."  
  
"Hai, demo..." Houjun couldn't find the right words to describe the sense of foreboding he had about the two girls, so he decided to let the matter drop. "Guess you're right." He closed his eyes as a breeze played with his hair. "It's purdy."  
  
Hikou started to laugh. "Ya said that already."  
  
For some reason, both boys laughed at that, and got into a wrestling match. For a good fifteen minutes the pair rolled around, getting covered in dirt, grass stains, and other things. Finally, Hikou pinned his friend on the ground and Houjun couldn't get him off no matter what he tried.  
  
"Surrender, Houjun-kun?" Hikou said, still laughing.  
  
Houjun smirked as he felt a familiar warmth in his leg begin to grow. "Not hardly no da," he replied, and felt a burst of strength.  
  
An instant later, it was Hikou who was pinned.  
  
"Gotcha! Yosh!" Houjun said cheerfully.  
  
"How'd ya do that?" Hikou asked. "That ain't possible."  
  
"I dunno, it just happened," Houjun said, letting his friend up.  
  
"Huh." Hikou shrugged. "Maybe you're doin' that growth sp- sp- that growth thing the grownups talk about."  
  
"Ya mean when ya get real strong and real tall all at once?"  
  
Hikou nodded.  
  
"Demo, I thought Mama said that happened when we were older."  
  
"Maybe we're special."  
  
Houjun felt a swell of pride at the thought of being different, being special. "Hai, maybe. Ne, maybe we're Warriors!" he said suddenly.  
  
"Ya mean the Suzaku Seishi?" Hikou asked, eyes wide and shining.  
  
"Hai, why not? They ain't been found yet," Houjun declared. "Maybe we're two of 'em."  
  
"Yeah, definitely two of us," Hikou agreed. "Cause if I was one, you'd haveta be one or I wouldn't help."  
  
"Aw, Hikou-kun, you're the best."  
  
The two settled down again and started to dream up adventures of being Warriors.  
  
"Maybe I can fly!"  
  
"An' maybe I could pick up really heavy stuff, y'know like houses!"  
  
"Yeah! An' there'd be all these people we'd save! We'd get so rich and people'd know us all over the place!" Hikou's eyes shone.  
  
"Hai, hai! An' we'd get all the food we wanted, and get to dress up all neat. Maybe we'd get as rich as the emperor."  
  
"And then we could have all the honey cakes we wanted." Hikou stared into space dreamily. "And the sweetmeats, and people would have to do everything we told them! Even mean girls like Kouran!"  
  
"Hai, cause she couldn't be a Warrior."  
  
"Iie, no chance!" Hikou was warming up to his subject. "And then we could make her be nice to us, and she'd leave us alone unless we wanted something! Maybe someday we'd actually get servants to give us whatever we wanted, and after we save the world we could just go swimming or something!"  
  
"Hai, no chores ever again!" Houjun grinned at the thought. "No cleaning up, no minding other people..."  
  
"Who knows? It could happen!" Hikou said.  
  
"Ne!" Houjun jumped to his feet and gave a victory sign and a pose. "I am Houjun, Suzaku Seishi!"  
  
"Hai!" Hikou jumped up as well and stood beside his friend. "And I am Hikou, Suzaku Seishi as well!"  
  
"We'll save the world!"  
  
"And we'll get all the honey cakes we want!"  
  
"And no chores!"  
  
"And we'll be rich as the emperor!"  
  
"Haaaai!"  
  
The tree, which they had been sitting under, remained unresponsive and rather unenthusiastic about their declarations. However, the boys didn't seem to mind. They continued on with their games, pretending to save each other from risky situations (falling out of the tree, for example) and other people (they made nearby trees said people).  
  
A little ways away, Yen was walking by with his fishing pole in hand again. He noticed the boys at play and smiled. He was about to walk over and see what they were having so much fun doing when he heard what they were saying. The smile became sad, almost wistful.  
  
"Ah, if only you knew, Houjun-kun," he said. "Then again, maybe you do in a way." He sighed, not able to help but feel proud of Houjun. "My son."  
  
Then he took up his bucket and went on his way to his favorite part of the river.  
  
~*~  
  
I'm sorry for the short chapter, everyone, but I wanted this part to stand out on its own. For one thing, I thought it was rather kawaii and deserved to stand on its own. And for another, the foreshadowing of events to come (Houjun pretending to be a Seishi) seemed important enough to me.  
  
Oh, if you were wondering, Kouran's plans will be coming soon, in the next chapter or so. Keep an eye out for it! ^_~  
  
Anyway, thanks for your time and I hope you enjoyed this. Until next time. 


	11. Chapter Eleven! Sorry about the wait!

Chapter Eleven- Secret Languages  
  
~*~  
  
"DA!"  
  
Houjun opened his right eye, then sat up and rubbed both eyes. Then he looked around the room for the source of the noise.  
  
It took a while for the boy to be able to focus on anything. However, once he could, he found that other than his father's staff in the corner, there was nothing that could have made any sounds such as the one he'd heard.  
  
After an instant or two of serious thought about this, Houjun dismissed the entire situation as waking himself up with his own snoring, and settled back down on the cot. His eyes began to slowly drift close when...  
  
"DA! NO DA!"  
  
No da?   
  
Houjun opened his eyes again, looking around his room once more. Again, he found nothing. Puzzled, he turned to look out the small window. Without standing up, he could only see out of a bit of it; however, he didn't feel like getting up to make sure he didn't see anything.  
  
Besides, he didn't hear the sound again for a few more minutes, so again dismissed it. "Weird bird or somethin'..." he mumbled into the cot. He once again closed his eyes.  
  
"DAAAAAA!"  
  
"DA!" Houjun jumped up, surprised at the sound. Then he stood, turned, and peered out the window.  
  
It was a bit later than when he usually woke up, maybe two or three hours after dawn. After peering around, he couldn't spot any weird birds. Once again, the blue-haired boy was puzzled.  
  
Then he heard giggling.  
  
He turned his head to the right, and discovered Kouran and Akemi sitting together a little ways from his home. They were seated next to a tree, apparently engrossed in a doll that Kouran had. On closer inspection, he realized that for some reason they were both glancing his way a lot, but were pretending they didn't notice him.  
  
That confused him more than anything else.  
  
With a, "Da?" to announce his confusion, Houjun turned back to the bed one more time.  
  
"DA! No da, da no, no no da! Da?" someone chirped.  
  
He turned around again to see Akemi was giggling at Kouran, who was smiling and repeating the two words "No da!"  
  
"Ano..." What was she doing?  
  
"No DA, na no da, da no da!" Akemi replied between giggles.  
  
"Daaaa?"  
  
Both girls turned to wave at him cheerfully. "NO DA!" they called, then started laughing again.  
  
"Ano... da? What're you two doing?" he asked, yawning.  
  
"Da no da, na no da da no da!" was Kouran's oh-so-coherent reply.  
  
Again, Houjun found himself staring blankly at the girls. "Huh?"  
  
She gave a little frown, then repeated the same sequence of no da's.   
  
"What did she say?" Houjun asked Akemi.  
  
Akemi merely repeated what Kouran had said, making random little gestures with her hands as though trying to visually help the boy out as well as explain.   
  
However, it was not helping in the least.  
  
The blue-haired boy scratched the back of his head. Then he lit up. "I know, you got.. um... you can't speak right! You musta crammed too many honey cakes in yer face, Kouran-chan." He grinned at her somewhat outraged expression, and waved. "Well, if ya don't mind go... have trouble talking... somewhere else, mmkay? I wanna sleep!"  
  
With that, he returned to his bed. However, it wasn't long until he heard them start again.  
  
He blinked, then stared up at the window. "Just what is up with them?" he mumbled.  
  
~*~  
  
"Da, no da da!"  
  
"Noooo da!"  
  
Houjun hung his head. "Daaaa..." He heard the two girls giggling and sweat-dropped. "When will they stop?"  
  
Late afternoon sunlight was filtering through the leaves on the trees, casting interesting shadows and light patterns on the ground. Houjun had been lying there for a while, grateful for the break from the girls, trying to guess what the shapes looked like. Then, like the rest of the day, the two had shown up, saying nothing but, "No da" and laughing about it constantly.  
  
"Where's Hikou when ya need 'im?" Houjun asked himself. He sighed. "It's so weird, I haven't seen him all day. Where IS he?"  
  
"Houjun-kun!"  
  
Speak of the devil...  
  
Houjun glanced up to see his best friend running towards him, and a beacon of hope appeared in his rather confusing (not to mention annoying) day. "Hikou! You gotta help me!" he cried, starting to run.  
  
Hikou blinked as he reached his friend. "What's up?" he asked. Then he glared at the girls. "And what're THEY doing?"  
  
"THEY'RE what ya gotta help me with!" Houjun said. "Or I'll go crazy!"  
  
"Really?" Hikou's eyes sparkled. "Ya think maybe you'll see things or you'll think ya can fly or somethin'?"  
  
"Nah, that's when you're... when you're..." Houjun snapped his fingers. "Ha! When you're drunk! That's what my Dad says."  
  
"Ooh," Hikou said. He nodded at this new bit of information.  
  
Houjun poked his friend. "Sides, why'd ya want me to go crazy? Then I'd have friends... upstairs!" He imitated one of the older ladies in the village by tapping his temple with a finger and assuming a grave expression.  
  
Hikou laughed. "True. Can't have my best friend get a new best friend! So whaddaya want me ta do?"  
  
"I want ya to watch the girls. Talk to 'em while I... do stuff."  
  
"Stuff like what?"  
  
Houjun whispered something into Hikou's ear. Hikou's eyes widened, then he smiled.   
  
"Haaai! You are so evil, Houjun-kun! Count me in!"  
  
"Arigatou, Hikou-kun! Let's get 'em!"  
  
~*~  
  
The girls, meanwhile, had been having their own conversation.  
  
"I think we're bothering him, Akemi-chan!"  
  
"Wai, it's working then, Kouran-chan! Should we keep going?"  
  
"Yeah, maybe it'll get that nasty Hikou too!"  
  
"Hai! You have the best ideas, Kouran!"  
  
"Arigatou!" Then Kouran smiled. "Ne, let's both go after different boys. You go after Hikou and I'll go after Houjun, mmkay?"  
  
"That way we'll be able to split up if they do!" Akemi said with realization. Then she giggled. "Oh, Kouran-chan, you are so evil!"  
  
"Arigatou, Akemi-chan! Let's get 'em!"  
  
"Haiii!" Then Akemi looked around. "Ano, Kouran?"  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"Where ARE the boys?"  
  
"Uh..." Indeed, the boys seemed to have run off. However, Kouran managed to see Hikou dodging around a corner before he completely disappeared. "That way! Let's go!"  
  
~*~  
  
The girls approached Hikou, who was sitting under a nearby tree now whistling and staring up at the leaves, with a contented expression on his face. Naturally, however, he gained a sour look when he saw them.  
  
"Whaddaya want?" he asked.  
  
"Where's Houjun-chan?" Kouran asked.  
  
"Why do ya wanna know?"  
  
"Cause I wanna know."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Cause."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Kouran glared at him. "CAUSE."  
  
"Why because?"  
  
"Cause BECAUSE. Where is he?"  
  
"Why do ya wanna know?" Now Hikou was enjoying himself, going by the grin on his face.  
  
Kouran, however, ended his fun when she hit him on the arm. "Tell me!"  
  
"Itai!" Hikou rubbed his arm. "Meanie."  
  
"Why don'cha go run to yer Moooooommy!" Kouran taunted.  
  
"Yeah, an' be a tattletale!" Akemi sang out.  
  
"Good idea, Akemi-chan!" Kouran whispered. Akemi smiled back.  
  
"You'll be runnin' to YER mommy when I get done wit' ya!" Hikou scooped up some dirt.  
  
"Oh yeah?" Kouran followed suit, and Akemi did as well.  
  
They started a little dirt-throwing fight. Soon all three were filthy, bearing grass stains on their clothing and smudges of dirt on their hands and faces.  
  
Soon, a nearby bystander decided to interfere.  
  
Kouran was busy scooping up another handful of dirt when she felt something in her hair. She dropped the dirt and cautiously lifted her hand. Something crawled onto her hand.  
  
She shrieked and began to shake her hand frantically. A moment later, a harmless spider landed on the grass. Rather miffed, it began its way towards the tree for a new home. "EW! SPIDER! SPIDER! KILL IT, HIKOU! KILL IT!"  
  
Hikou was too busy laughing to even answer.  
  
"What're you- EEK!" She squeaked as someone jumped on her from behind.   
  
"BOO!"  
  
"EEEEAAAAAAH!" Kouran started to struggle. "Stop it, stop it please!"  
  
Laughing, Houjun got off of her and offered a hand for her.  
  
Kouran looked incredulously at him. "Houjun-chan...?" She started to sniffle. "You... you scared me..."  
  
"What a meanie!" Akemi declared.  
  
"You started it!" Houjun told them smugly.  
  
"Did not!"  
  
"Did too!"  
  
"DID NOT!"  
  
"DID TOO NO DA!"  
  
The girls stopped, then started laughing.  
  
Houjun's eye twitched. "It's not funny... You DID start it, and that's what ya get for- ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!"  
  
Both girls were still laughing.  
  
Then Hikou came to Houjun's defense. Plucking the spider from the tree, he threw it at them.  
  
Needless to say, neither the spider NOR the girls were very happy about this. Shrieking, the two girls ran off while the boys laughed. Even more miffed, the spider burrowed under the grass to search for a better hiding place to live.  
  
The boys were the last ones laughing as they raced to the market, both to tell the other boys what happened and to hide from the girl's soon-to-come wrath.  
  
~*~  
  
I hope this partially makes up for the lack of updates recently. ^^; Frankly, I was a tad hyper and feeling a bit evil when I wrote this. So naturally there was a boys versus girls battle here. I hope you enjoyed this. (Celebrates) Five pages instead of just three this time! I'm so proud! (Hugs fic) I hope you enjoyed this, everyone! 


	12. Chapter Twelve!

Chapter Twelve- Discoveries  
  
~*~  
  
"Houjun? Houjun, wake up!"  
  
"Daaa...?"  
  
"Houjun!"  
  
The young boy opened his eyes to squint up towards the source of whoever was bugging him. He yawned. "Mama, what're ya..."  
  
"Remember, Houjun-kun? Today you're going to school!"  
  
"Oh, right- NANI!?  
  
"Honestly," his mother said. She pulled him out of bed and proceeded to rummage through the pile of clothes on the floor near the door. "I hope you have a nice- ah, here we go." She held up a pair of leggings and a tunic. "You'll wear this today. You must make a nice impression, you know."  
  
"On who?" he asked, still yawning. He sat back down on the bed. "Dad's the one teaching us. An' I'll know everyone else there!"  
  
"You should still be prepared. You never know what may happen. Now get up, get that blasted hair of yours presentable, and get dressed. I'll get you some bread to eat on your way!"  
  
Grumbling about how unfair the whole thing was, Houjun reluctantly stood up and changed into the clothes his mother ordered for him. He ran a hand over both knees once he'd dressed, shaking his head; his mother wouldn't like the small holes in them.  
  
Ah, well. Not his problem!  
  
The blue-haired boy made his way into the next room, where his mother handed him some bread.  
  
"Now you'll behave, and listen carefully to your father, understand? Just because you're related doesn't mean he'll give you special treatment, you know!"  
  
"Hai, hai," he mumbled. "Sure, Mama."  
  
With that, he was hustled out the door, bread and all.  
  
He sighed, and looked up at the sky. It was barely sunrise, with just enough light to make his way from his house onto the main road of his village. Trudging along, he began to nibble at his bread as he continued to mentally complain to himself about him having to get up so early.  
  
After a few minutes, he met with his friend Hikou and with Ryu. Together, the three made their way to their 'school'.  
  
The 'school' was just an old house that had been moved out of recently, but no one had lived in since. Ryu had recently taken to insisting that the ghost that haunted his house liked to stay in this abandoned place as well, but no one really believed him.  
  
As the boys walked in, they saw that it was all one big room. Yen, Houjun's father, had gotten a number of pillows and mats for the children to sit on while they learned. They were all lined up in rows, with about four or five rows in total. Apparently, all the kids in the village were coming to this new 'school'.  
  
Yen sat at the very front of the room, waiting for everyone to arrive.  
  
Houjun looked around and saw that a lot of the village kids were already there, either wandering around the room or racing around outside. One kid he didn't know that well leaned against a wall, sleeping. Two others were splitting up their breakfast.   
  
And...  
  
Of course. There stood Akemi and Kouran, along with a couple other girls.   
  
Houjun sighed.  
  
"With any luck we won't be sittin' next to 'em," Hikou muttered.  
  
Houjun nodded. "Dad says that in the capital, the schools split boys an' girls up to keep 'em from getting in trouble!"  
  
"Good," Hikou and Ryu said.  
  
"It seems everyone is here," Yen said suddenly. "Please, everyone, take a seat."  
  
The kids all ignored him.  
  
Yen sighed. Then he grabbed his staff and shook it, causing it to jingle softly.  
  
All of the younger kids immediately hushed, looking wide-eyed at the 'jingly staff'- the older kids finally glanced over from their conversations, wondering why the younger children were so quiet.  
  
"Everyone, please take a seat," Yen repeated.  
  
This time, everyone hurried to obey.  
  
"Let's go up in front," Hikou suggested. "They wouldn't dare sit near us! No one likes the front!"  
  
"Hai, but it'll be worth it!" Houjun agreed.  
  
"Jus' cause you guys are my friends," Ryu said hesitantly.  
  
The three took a seat.  
  
"Ne, Houjun, your hair's in my way," said someone behind them.  
  
The blue-haired boy jumped, then turned around to see Kouran smiling at him. "Then move," he replied, and turned back around.  
  
He felt her tug on his hair. "Aw, that's so mean, Houjun-chan! Don'cha think, Hikou-CHAN?"  
  
Hikou turned to glare at her. "Shut up."  
  
Akemi giggled. "You're both so mean!"  
  
"Then what's so funny?" Ryu piped up.  
  
The four looked at him, surprised he had jumped into the conversation. Then their attention was diverted as they heard the staff again.  
  
"Ahem," Yen said. "You have all been taught by your parents for most of your lives, learning things that you'd need to know if you were to follow your family's ways of earning a living. However, the village has decided that since I, having the knowledge of Suzaku's priests, I can teach you more than your parents can.  
  
We'll work on histories and logic; we'll occasionally wander into the woods so I can point out the good and bad plants to eat; we'll even work a bit on simple mathematics and bargaining." He heard a number of groans at this. "This is, of course, so you won't be tricked into buying something at a ridiculously high price in another city. Then we'll work on some miscellaneous things as- yes?"  
  
A boy to the far left of Houjun had had his hand raised. "Ano, what is missile-ane-us?"  
  
"Miscellaneous? It means other things that aren't quite as important as what I talked about before."  
  
Yen cleared his throat again. "I'll begin with a story about how the priests live from day to day. How does that sound?"  
  
Nobody had been really listening to him until they caught the word 'story'. After that, however, every eye was on Yen as he began to talk...  
  
~*~  
  
"Well, it ain't as bad as I thought it'd be," Hikou said.  
  
Houjun looked up from eating his lunch. "Soo desu," he agreed. "It's actually kinda fun."  
  
"Yeah, him telling stories is real fun!" Ryu said.  
  
"Ne, Houjun, your pants..." Hikou pointed.  
  
Houjun raised one eyebrow at his friend. Then he stood up so he could look down. He realized that the holes around his knees in the leggings were larger, probably from him sitting on the ground and shifting around so much. He shrugged. "Yeah. They're old, I think."  
  
"Hope yer mom doesn't get too mad," Ryu said sympathetically.  
  
"Yeah, me too," Houjun said. He reached down to touch his right kneecap. "Da... Maybe Dad'll save me."  
  
"Speakin' of yer dad..." Ryu pointed to the doorway of the 'school', where Yen stood watching the children eat and play. "I think it's time t' go back in."  
  
"Yeah, I guess so," Houjun agreed. He brushed off some of the dirt and crumbs he'd gotten on himself during lunch.  
  
Kouran sauntered by then, looking a little too innocent for anyone's good. "Hiya, Houjun-chan," she said with a smile. "How ya doin'?"  
  
"Da?" He blinked. "Ano... okay, I guess."  
  
"Good." She giggled and walked towards the house. "See ya inside."  
  
"Okay, that is SCARY," Hikou said, pointing after her. "What in Suzaku's she up to?" He frowned. "And was she hidin' somethin' in a pocket? Somethin' was moving in her dress!"  
  
"I dunno," Houjun said. "Watch out, though!"  
  
All three boys nodded seriously at this thought, then headed in for the rest of the day's lessons.  
  
~*~  
  
Kouran couldn't help but giggle again as Houjun warily took his seat in front of her again. She smiled at him. Then, when he had his attention on Yen, she reached into the folds of her skirt to pull out a tiny lizard.  
  
"I don't like ya very much," she admitted quietly to it. "But Houjun-chan won't, either!"   
  
"Eh? You say somethin', Kouran?" Houjun asked.  
  
"Iie," she responded.  
  
"Ano... da... okay..."  
  
Now she waited until his attention was completely on his father again. Slowly, oh so slowly, she reached out with the lizard for the back of his shirt...  
  
~*~  
  
The class had gotten fairly sleepy about halfway through the later lessons. Mostly, Yen was busy talking about histories of some sort. While he was trying to keep it interesting, the children were simply tired of sitting in one place listening to the same person. Hikou was beginning to nod off, while Ryu was already asleep. Houjun, though he tried to fight off sleep, was also beginning to feel like he wouldn't make it...  
  
Then, the calm atmosphere of the school was suddenly interrupted.  
  
"DAAAAAAAAHAHAHA!"  
  
Everyone turned with wide eyes to see that Houjun, wide-eyed, was frantically grabbing at his shirt as though trying to shake something out of it.  
  
"GET IT OFF NO DAAAA!"  
  
"Houjun? Wha?" Hikou asked, jerking awake.  
  
Ryu continued to sleep peacefully, even when Houjun momentarily fell on top of him.  
  
Yen, surprised at the interruption, asked, "What is going ON, Houjun?"  
  
A few of the older girls in the far back began to squeal about how 'absolutely KAWAII that little boy up front' was, while the older boys sighed and rolled their eyes before going back to sleep.  
  
Akemi and Kouran merely smiled at each other.  
  
"DA! GET IT OFF NO DAHAHAA! DA!"  
  
Then, after that unexpected occurrence, something even less expected happened.  
  
Houjun began to feel a familiar warmth spread through his leg, and he managed to calm down enough to finally grab hold of the lizard that had been causing him so much discomfort and pull him out of his shirt. Sighing in relief, the boy felt the warmth calm him down further, and he turned sheepishly towards everyone else.  
  
"Gomen nasai," he said, holding up the lizard. "This got into my shirt... ano... what are you all looking at?"  
  
For everyone was staring at him, not in the exasperated way that he expected, but in an incredulous, even fearful manner that made him worry.  
  
Then, finally, Hikou broke the silence by pointing at him. "You... leg... red... Sho! Suzaku... warrior... red... glow!" he summed up.   
  
Everyone else seemed to agree with this statement, as a few other kids began to stammer something along the same lines.  
  
"Red light... knee..."  
  
"I know a warrior!"  
  
"Me too, me too!" a little girl piped up.  
  
Kouran, not really taking this possibility into consideration, was wondering what on earth to do. Her plan had been merely to embarrass the boy in front of everyone, but now she had apparently exposed him as a future Suzaku shichiseishi!  
  
"My Houjun-chan, a warrior?" she whispered.  
  
Houjun, meanwhile, was blinking and scratching the back of his head. "Da? Sho?" Then he glanced down. "Oh, you mean my legs? Hai, Mama gets mad at me making holes in 'em, too," he said with a smile.  
  
A number of people face-faulted. Considering they were all sitting down at the time, that was quite a feat. Others, meanwhile, continued to stare.   
  
Yen finally stood up to walk over to his son.  
  
"Ano... right then. May I introduce to you all the Suzaku Celestial Warrior, Houjun?"  
  
~*~  
  
Yeah, I was feeling evil again. Could you tell? I decided it was time for Chiri to show he was a warrior, however silly the situation ended up being. (Coughs) Ah, well. Does anyone think this'll change the relationships between him and Hikou? Or him and Kouran, for that matter?  
  
Note- I don't know whether anyone knew about him being a Seishi until later, but I'm adding it in since I thought it was right. So there. ^^;  
  
And now... Time for self-promotions! (Clears throat) I recently uploaded a short story called The Riddle Song, concerning Hikou and Houjun during the time of the flood. It changes how Hikou dies a bit, but I'd like anyone who has some free time to please take a look at it. I rarely do song fics, after all, and I'd like to know I don't completely suck at it. ^^ That said, I hope you all enjoyed this. 


End file.
